These Are the Days
by Deplora
Summary: FINISHED Credits and Thank You's added. AU Life at college can be tough for everyone, especially Yuffie and Squall Leon. Will eventually be Squffie with a little CloudAerith and SoraKairi thrown in for extra flavoring.
1. Chapter One: First Impressions

Author's Note: It's me again, already! I was driving to class other night, just singing along with the radio, minding my own business, when a story idea popped into my head. So, here I am, typing away. I can't believe that this is my fourth story already. 

Okay, so before I start the story, I have to give you some information about it so it will make sense. First of all, it takes place in an Alternate Universe, so no Heartless, no Keyblade master, etc. Secondly, I'm tweaking the characters ages a bit so the story will work. Yuffie - 18, Kairi - 17, Sora - 18, Aerith - 21, Cloud - 23, and Squall - 27. I would put Riku in, but I've found that I am unable to write his character (maybe he'll make a guest appearance). And, since I don't know Kairi's and Sora's last names, I'm going to make them up as I go along. Also, the pairs will be eventually Yuffie/Squall (of course), Cloud/Aerith, and Sora/Kairi. So, without further adieu, I give you "These Are the Days."

Disclaimer: I own neither Kingdom Hearts nor the characters portrayed in the story unless it is one of my original characters, so if you don't recognize someone, it's probably an original character.

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_THESE ARE THE DAYS_

_Chapter One: First Impressions_

"Come on, Kairi! We're going to be late!" Yuffie screamed at her new roommate as she hastily threw a couple notebooks into her green backpack and grabbed a slip of paper off her already piled up desk. _First day of college and I'm acting like a dork already, _she sighed. Looking around the room, she shuddered at the clashing colors. Her half was done in greens and yellows, whereas Kairi insisted on purples and blues. It made an interesting combination, if you were colorblind. The floor, where you could see it through the piles of clothes, was covered in a stained beige carpet. Posters covered the white walls, most consisting of guys from their favorite music groups. And on the ceiling, the two girls had painstakingly placed glow-in-the-dark stars of random sizes.

"Chill, Yuffie," the red-head calmly replied from her side of the room, seeing that the clock showed 8:45 in red glaring numbers. "Class doesn't start for another fifteen minutes. We have plenty of time," she continued as she took a coke from the small refrigerator placed in the back corner of the room. She shook her head at the nervous ebony haired girl. _How am I going to put up with her all semester, _she silently wondered. "Are you going to be like this all year?"

"Plenty of time?! Plenty of time?! We don't even know where the math building is? How can you say we have plenty of time?" Yuffie began pulling her short hair in frustration. She hated to be late, usually arriving to her destination about ten minutes early.

Kairi walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "This is college, Yuffie. The professors expect us to be late." Using her roommate for balance, the red-head pulled her new sneakers on. "Besides, how far away can the math building be anyways?"

Yuffie's dark blue eyes widened at the girl's statement. "Haven't you even looked at how far apart all the buildings are?" She looked down at the map she clutched tightly in her hand, pointing angrily at a tiny dot. "Our class is all the way across campus!"

"Oh, well then, we better get going, hadn't we?" the slightly younger girl said. Yuffie rolled her eyes, sighing resignedly, wondering who she had made mad enough in the Resident Life Department to give her this particular girl as a roommate. She thought back to when she first discovered who her roommate would be.

_"Yuffie," her mother called. "You got a letter from the university today. I think it says Resident Life on the front."_

_ The eighteen year old came running down the stairs and grabbed the envelope from her mother. Ripping it open, she began to read:_

_ "Miss Kisaragi,_

_ We are happy to inform you that your request for a room in Welllington Hall has been complied with. As a resident of Wellington Hall, you must have at least one roommate, of the same gender, who has been randomly selected. Below is the aforementioned roommate's name, telephone number, and address so you may become acquainted with one another. We thank you for choosing our university to continue your studies._

_ Kairi Crawford_

_ (XXX) XXX - XXXX_

_ XXXX Plum Rd_

_ Gilmer, TX XXXXX"_

_ Yuffie put the letter on the table and picked up the cordless phone, dialing the number immediately. After the third ring, someone answered._

_ "Hello," a soft voice said._

_ "Hi, is Kairi there?" Yuffie asked excitedly._

_ "This is she."_

_ Yuffie took a deep breath before speaking. "I'm Yuffie Kisaragi. I just found out that we're going to roommates this year at the university. And I was wondering if you could give me your e-mail address or something so we could get to know one another before the semester starts." _

_ Kairi agreed and they began e-mailing and instant messaging each other for the rest of the summer. Yuffie discovered she was almost exactly a year older than the red-head: Yuffie's birthday being on November 20 and Kairi's falling on the 28th. Also, Kairi found out that her new roommate took the martial arts very seriously while she herself considered walking to the kitchen enough exercise for the week._

Coming back to the present, Yuffie threw her backpack over her shoulder and walked out the door to their third floor room, Kairi trailing after her. They walked down the long hall and descended the stairs, passing other students as they rushed to class. She looked down at her schedule for about the hundredth time that day. _Okay, College Algebra at nine, Biology at eleven, and finally History at one. This isn't so bad, Yuf. You can do this. Just get through today and then we'll worry about tomorrow's schedule. _On the outside, she put on a brave front, but inside she was a quivering puddle of jelly. 

They opened the doors from their dormitory to the courtyard, the stifling August heat bearing down on them. "Okay, Yuffie, which way?" Kairi asked excitedly as she watched all the people milling around.

Squinting at the map, she headed off toward the North gate of campus. "This way, I think," she called back over her shoulder. Kairi caught up with her and the two girls began their trek across the large campus, falling into the crowd.

"WATCH OUT!" Yuffie turned around in time to see a guy about her age with spikey chocolate-colored hair flying down the sidewalk on a skateboard, yelling at people to move. She managed to jump to the side right before he ran her over.

"Did you see that?" Kairi said indignantly, hands placed on her slim waist. "People are so rude!" 

Yuffie just leaned against the wall where she had jumped, glaring at the skateboarder as he disappeared from sight. "That bastard could have killed me!" she hissed, thinking of the many ways she could maim him for life. _If I could catch him, that is_, she silently mused.

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Finally reaching the math building, the two girls consulted their schedules again for the room number. "Room 159," they said simultaneously as they headed down the empty hall. Yuffie looked at her watch, "Great, we're ten minutes late." Finding the room, she slowly pushed open the door to reveal a large auditorium and about a hundred students in the seats.

"Damn, I've never seen such a big class before," Kairi muttered as she looked for two empty seats. Spotting them on the back row, she pulled the protesting Yuffie over to them, not noticing who was sitting next them.

The elderly professor looked at his watch, knowing he needed to wait for the few stragglers who had trouble finding the class. "Welcome to College Algebra. Class, please sign the roll sheet as it comes around. With a class this large, it wouldn't be practical to call role," the professor droned on, handing a sheet to a student in the front row. "Now, if you would look at your syllabus…"

Zoning out, Yuffie glanced around the large crowded room, taking in her surroundings. She got a good look at the guy sitting next to Kairi, he seemed so familiar. Wracking her brain for a moment, she tried desperately to place him. Her eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in anger when she finally realized he was the skateboarder. "You!" she seethed across the perplexed Kairi.

"What?" he whispered back, bright blue eyes clearly showing his confusion.

Kairi looked back and forth between the two, finally settling on Yuffie. "What's wrong, Yuffie?"

"He's the guy that nearly killed me on that skateboard from hell." She pointed her finger at spikey-haired youth.

He grinned sheepishly, "I thought you looked familiar." 

"I'm gonna look real familiar to you by the time I'm finished with you," Yuffie growled, murder showing in her eyes.

Holding his hands up in peace, he began to apologize. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't want to be late for class." He reached a hand across Kairi, "Can't we let bygones be bygones?"

She scowled at him for a moment before giving into his friendliness. Shaking his hand, she said, "Okay, you lucked out. I forgive you. I'm Yuffie Kisaragi."

"Sora Johnson." He looked at the petite red-head next to him, "And you are…?"

A large smile lit up her violet eyes, "Kairi Crawford." Turning away from him, she noticed the professor was writing something on the blackboard. "Um, I think we should be taking notes, don't y'all?" They immediately pulled out their various notebooks, beginning to write furiously on the paper while the professor began his lecture on quadratic equations.

After what seemed like hours to Yuffie but had only been fifty minutes, she finally heard the math professor announce "Class dismissed," receiving a loud collective sigh coming from the students.

Getting up from her seat, Yuffie muttered, "About time. I thought he was going to go on and on about those stupid equations." She flexed her hand, trying to work the cramps out of it from writing so quickly.

"And you would think he could talk a little slower, don't ya?" Kairi glared down the professor who was answering student questions. 

Sora rubbed the back of his neck as he reached under his seat to pull out his skateboard. "So, um, what classes do you guys have next?" he asked tentatively.

Yuffie retrieved her schedule from her pocket. "I'm don't have another class until eleven, and then it's Biology." She curled her lip in disgust, "I hate biology."

Kairi dug around in here backpack, finally fishing out a crumpled piece of paper. Smoothing it out, she tried to make out the words. "Uh, I think it says I have English."

"Really? Where?" the brunette inquired.

"Liberal Arts building, room 102." She folded the schedule up carefully this time and placed it in the front pocket of her backpack.

Sora's face lit up excitedly, "So do I!" He looked down at his watch, "Come on, we better hurry or we're going to be late."

"Okay." Kairi started to leave with him, then turned back to Yuffie and mouthed _He's cute._ Yuffie nodded and smiled happily for her roommate.

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The rest of the day passed uneventfully for Yuffie. She didn't know anyone in either of her two later classes and she hadn't met any new people. Although, there was that one guy on the front row of her biology class that caught her eye. He appeared to be about twenty-two years old and had long shaggy brown hair reaching just below his shoulders. What made him really stand out though, was the fact that he wore black leather pants with four belts and a black leather jacket with red angel wings on the back, albeit the jacket was short-sleeved, but still, in this stifling heat how could he wear leather. 

Deciding to try and sit next to him, she walked down the aisle towards him, passing row upon row of empty seats. Finally reaching her destination, she asked quietly, "Mind if I sit down?"

He lifted his azure eyes, giving her the once over before answering, "Sorry, seat's taken." He turned his gaze back to the front of the class, staring off into space.

"Well, what about the one on the other side?" she persisted.

Without looking at her, he replied, "It's taken as well."

Sighing resignedly, she made her way to the back of the auditorium, watching the man down front as the seats were slowly filled throughout the room. Still gazing upon him, she became infuriated when she noticed that even after class had started, the two seats on either side of the man were still empty. _If he didn't want me to sit there, he could have just said so_, she fumed, sending him death glares from her seat in the back.

So, after trying not to fall asleep in her last class of the day, History of the United States, she returned to her dorm, hoping to find something to do to ease her boredom. On nearing the door to her and Kairi's room, she heard loud laughter. _Hm, wonder what's going on in there?_ she asked herself. She reached for the doorknob when the door was suddenly pulled open by Sora. 

"Sora?" Yuffie questioned, brows furrowed in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

Kairi's head appeared around the brunette, "He walked me back after our last class."

"Well, I do live on the fourth floor, so it wasn't any problem," he told the two girls, smiling especially at Kairi. "So, I'll see you tomorrow, right?" he asked, looking at the red-head.

"Yeah. You better not forget!" she laughed as he turned to walk away. 

Yuffie walked into the room, shutting the door behind her. She stared at her roommate, "Okay, what was that all about?" She crossed her arms across her chest and tapped her foot expectantly, trying to appear stern, but coming off ridiculous looking.

Kairi glanced at Yuffie, blushing slightly. "Oh, nothing. We just have the same first class tomorrow, so he's gonna walk with me." Her ebony-haired roommate kept staring at her, urging her to continue. "He's…he's so sweet, and funny, and…and…I just can't describe it," she finished lamely.

"Kairi, you just met the guy today! For all we know, he's a psychopath looking for another victim." 

Kairi rolled her eyes, "Yeah, and I'm the Queen of England. Come off it, Yuffie! He's not a psychopath. He's a genuinely nice guy. Can't you just accept that?"

Taking a deep breath, Yuffie began to apologize. "I'm sorry. He probably is a really great guy. I just had a tiring day, that's all."

"That's okay. I understand." Kairi looked over at the clock beside her bed. 2:46. "Hey, do you want to go to a movie or something? I hear the new Orlando Bloom movie is showing at the Rose Theater and they have student discounts," she said temptingly.

"Yeah, I guess. Let me find my wallet." Yuffie rummaged around the mess on her computer desk, pens falling through the crack between the desk and the wall. "Ah-ha! There it is!" 

"Ready?" Yuffie nodded, heading for the door with Kairi close behind her, letting the door slam shut behind them.

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_Author's Note: _I know, I know, there wasn't a lot of Squall/Leon in this chapter. In fact, he didn't even get a name yet. But, he will be in the next chapter. I have it all planned out in my head. Typing it though, is another matter. Anyways, you know the drill. REVIEW please, it encourages more chapters faster.


	2. Chapter Two: Partners or Enemies?

_Author's Note: _Well, here ya go. Chapter two is now officially up and running. Thank you to all the reviewers so far.

Note to BB214kiss: There is College Algebra. Believe me, I know. I've had to suffer through it. It's a lot easier than Calculus *shudders* and you have to take it before Calculus unless you make a high enough score on the math test they give you first. At least, that's how it is where I'm going to college at.

Disclaimer: Do I really need to do this? Okay, I don't own Kingdom Hearts nor the characters in this story unless they happen to be someone I make up. However, I do own Squall when I'm dreaming. That's when I chain him to my bed.

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_Chapter Two: Partners or Enemies?_

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

Yuffie jolted awake to the annoying sound of her alarm clock going off at precisely six in the morning. Groaning in protest, she swung her arm around and hit the snooze button. She did this four times before a muffled yell from Kairi's side of the room said, "Get the hell up and turn that damn thing off!"

She groggily raised her head, and glared at the lump that was Kairi. "I don't see you getting up."

Head beneath the pillows, the red-head replied, "That's because I wasn't stupid enough to sign up for an eight o'clock class."

Yuffie rolled out of bed, untangling herself from the sheets as she did, and stumbled to the bathroom for a nice, steamy morning shower to wake her up. _Why did I sign up for an eight o'clock biology lab? There were about ten others to choose from ,but no, Yuffie, you just had to sign up for the early one,_ she thought to herself as the hot water hit her skin. Sighing, she turned the shower off and got out, wrapping herself in her terrycloth robe.

"It's about time you got out of the shower," Kairi grumbled as she pushed past Yuffie into the tiny bathroom.

"I thought you didn't have a class until nine?" Yuffie asked, confused at why her roommate would be up already. Kairi seemed to be the type of person who slept until just a few minutes before class began.

Before shutting the bathroom door in Yuffie's face, she muttered, "Sora's meeting me at eight so we can get some breakfast."

Smiling, the ebony-haired girl nodded knowingly as she reached for the hair-dryer. _She's head over heels for the guy. _Yuffie didn't know whether to be happy for the girl or worried since they had just met Sora and didn't really know that much about him. Finishing with her hair, she went to her closet and pulled out a pair of khaki shorts and a green halter top. Putting them on, she eyed herself in the mirror. _Yeah, I think these look good._ She finished the look with a pair of sneakers that had seen better days, choosing comfort over style. _I do have a long walk to the class, _she reminded herself. 

She stole a quick glance to the clock. 7:43. "Shit, I'm going to be late. Again." she muttered to herself as she quickly grabbed her backpack. "I'm going. I'll see ya later," she yelled through the bathroom door to Kairi before she left.

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"Ninety-four, ninety-five, ninety-six." Yuffie wiped the sweat from her brow as she finally reached the fourth floor of the science building, counting the steps as she went. "I still don't see why only the handicapped and the staff can use the damn elevator," she said under her breath.

She pushed through the double doors leading from the stairwell to the corridor lined with the lab rooms. "Room 417. Where is Room 417?" she mumbled as she strolled down the hallway, passing other lost students along the way. "Ah-ha!" she exclaimed when she finally found the room, "And I still have," she looked down at her watch, "2 minutes to spare."

Walking through the doorway, she saw that there were only two seats left in the room: one next to a big blonde guy with bright blue eyes and the other next to the guy who had snubbed her yesterday in the biology class. An evil grin crept spread across her face as she walked over to the brunette and plopped onto the stool next to him.

"The seat's taken," he said, never once looking at her.

"Uh-uh. That's not gonna work today," she quipped, taking a notebook out of her backpack.

He quickly stole a glance at her, blue eyes narrowing in recognition. "Oh, it's you. Look, you have got the wrong guy. I'm not looking for anyone and you're too young for me."

"Oh really? And who said I was interested?" Yuffie huffed, her eyes flaring with rage at the man who presumed to know what she was thinking. She slammed her lab manual down on the counter, then threw her backpack onto the floor, wanting so badly to hit something, mainly the guy sitting next to her. 

The teaching assistant, who taught the lab for the professor, came waltzing through the door, carrying a large stack of papers. "Okay, people, I'm you're TA for this lab," he said in a nasal voice. "My name is Robert Siewort, but you will call me Mr. Siewort." He began passing out the forms he had carried in. "Please, fill these out, leaving your lab partner's name blank for now as I will be assigning them momentarily."

Taking out a pen, Yuffie filled out the paper, reading aloud as she did so. "Name? Yuffie Kisaragi. Class? Freshman." But she was interrupted by her neighbor.

"Do you have to do that?" he hissed.

"Do what?"

"Read it out loud."

"No, but since it annoys you, I will," she said happily as she continued. "Do you wear glasses or contacts?" Before she could answer her own question, he had snatched the sheet of paper from in front of her, wading it into a ball before throwing it across the room. "Hey!" she protested, "That wasn't very nice!" She sounded like a kindergartner without meaning to.

"No, it wasn't," the guy smirked. "But whoever said that I'm nice?"

Mr. Siewort looked up from his stack of papers on his desk at them. "Is there a problem?" he asked.

"I goofed up on my form and I need another one," Yuffie lied. _Well, it's not a complete lie, _she consoled herself, _I really do need another one._

The TA beckoned her over, handing her the requested page. "Please, be more careful with this one," he said as she took it. 

Sitting back down, Yuffie began to fill out the form once again, this time being careful not to read it aloud. Just as she had finished, Mr. Siewort rose from his chair to face the class. "Okay, I'll be assigning lab partners now, alphabetically." He began to go through a list of names, checking roll at the same time. "Gainesborough?" There was no answer. "Aerith Gainesborough?" Still no answer. "I guess she dropped," he muttered as he crossed the name off the list. "Okay, Kisaragi?" Yuffie raised her hand. "You and Leonhart will be partners."

"Great," the guy next to her muttered.

"You're Leonhart, I take it?" she said, the question coming out more like a statement.

"What gave it away?"

Yuffie studied him for a moment, trying to figure him out, before asking, "So, do you have a first name?"

"Leon," he replied simply yet firmly, leaving no room for questions.

"Leon Leonhart? Did your parents have a sick sense of humor?" she questioned confusedly. He scowled at her. "Well, Leon, I'm Yuffie." She stuck her hand out, planning on shaking hands like normal people did when they met for the first time. He just stared at her, azure eyes boring holes into her head. "Okay then, be that way!" she hissed. She turned her attention back to the TA.

"Strife?" The big blonde guy Yuffie had nearly sat next to raised his hand. "Well, since you're the last one, I guess you will have to join another pair."

Mr. Siewort was about to find the blonde a group when a young woman walked through the door wearing a pink blouse, flared blue jeans, and a pair of hiking boots. Her long chestnut hair was pulled into a thick braid that hung down her back. "Am I late?" she asked quietly, her big emerald eyes widening.

The TA looked down at the roster, "Aerith Gainesborough, I take it?"

"Yes. I'm sorry I'm late, but I had a flat tire and what with one thing and another, I lost track of time," she explained in her dulcet voice.

"Save the excuses, Miss Gainesborough. You're just in time. I have just assigned lab partners. You will be partners with Cloud Strife," he finished as he pointed to the blonde. Aerith sauntered over to the empty stool next the Cloud, shaking hands with him as she sat down. Mr. Siewort glanced around at the class. "People, I suggest you spend time today getting to know your partner as he or she will be your key to passing the class."

Yuffie turned back to Leon, "So, Leon, are you a freshman?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," he mumbled, hoping she would take the hint and be quiet.

"Well, you're either a freshman or you're not. There's no in between." 

"Look, I hardly believe I should be classified as a freshman after spending eight years in the marines," he explained angrily.

Yuffie's eyes widened. "Eight years? But that would make you twenty-six at the least, wouldn't it?"

"Twenty-seven actually." He didn't like where this was going.

She stared at him for a moment, remembering her initial guess of twenty-two yesterday. "Liar," she finally told him. "You can't be more than twenty-two at the most."

He scowled at her, "I could feel flattered, but I'm not. I'm twenty-seven."

"Prove it!"

"Fine!" He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a wallet, opening it and showing Yuffie his Driver's License. "There, see for yourself."

Eyeing him skeptically, she looked down at the license and began to read. "Squall Leonhart? I thought you said your name was Leon?"

"It is Leon. Just look at the birth date," he commanded.

"June 17, 1976." Yuffie quickly did the math in her head, _let's see, it's August 2003 right now, Oh my gosh! He really is twenty-seven!_ "Okay, you win. You're twenty-seven." With her admission he flipped the wallet closed and shoved it back into his pocket, turning away from his partner as he did so.

Sighing, Yuffie began to rummage through her bag, trying to find something to do since her partner apparently didn't want to talk with her. She jumped when she felt someone tap her shoulder.

"Excuse me," the chestnut haired woman started, "but my partner and I were wondering if you and your partner would like to come with us for breakfast?"

"You mean, we don't have to sit here in the lab for the full four hours?" Yuffie asked.

Aerith smiled. "You're a freshman, aren't you?"

"Am I that obvious?"

The woman nodded. "The TA just said for us to get acquainted. He didn't say it had to be in here." By now, Leon had turned and was listening to what she said. "So," she continued, "Would y'all like to join us?"

Yuffie nodded emphatically. "Sure, I would love to." She looked over to her partner, "But I'm not too sure if Squall wants to."

"It's Leon," he muttered. "I suppose I could join you, if only for a change of scenery." They gathered their things and rose from their stools to follow Aerith and the blonde out of the lab, telling the TA they were going elsewhere to become acquainted. He simply nodded, glad to be rid of at least some of the class.

Once in the hallway, the pink-clad woman turned Yuffie and Leon, saying, "By the way, I'm Aerith Gainesborough and this is Cloud Strife." She extended her hand in greeting.

Yuffie took it, saying, "Yuffie Kisaragi, and this is Squall Leonhart."

"I told you, my name is Leon," he said angrily. He shook hands with both Cloud and Aerith.

"So, does IHOP sound good for everyone?" Cloud asked, looking around at them expectantly. Their was a muted chorus of "yeah's" so the blonde began to lead the way down the hall and to the stairwell. Once on the first floor, they began the long trek across campus to the South Gate where the IHOP was located.

Once inside, they took a booth with Cloud and Aerith on one side, Yuffie and Leon on the other. "So, how about we each say what are major is and what we plan to do with it?" Aerith questioned. "I'll begin. I'm a senior English major and I plan to teach high school after I graduate in May."

"Wait a minute!" Yuffie exclaimed. "You're a senior and you're in a freshman level biology class?"

The woman blushed. "Well, two lower level science classes are required for every degree plan." She sighed, "And I put them off until the last year because I was trying to avoid it."

"Wow, so how old are you, exactly?" the ebony haired girl asked.

"Twenty-one."

Cloud went next. "I'm twenty-three, a junior business major, and in a freshman level class for the same reason as Aerith. I really didn't want to take it."

The waiter came to take their orders before Leon or Yuffie could say anything about themselves. But as soon as he left, Leon began. "Twenty-seven, ex-marine, freshman, pre-law major. Any questions?"

"How long were you in the marines?" Cloud asked.

"Eight years."

"Ah, that explains the short answers," the blonde mused.

Yuffie took a deep breath, "Well, I guess that just leaves me. I'm eighteen, so I guess I'm the baby of the group. This is my first time away from home, I just graduated in May. I haven't decided on a major yet, so I don't really know what I'm planning on doing after school."

They began chatting amongst themselves, the two women doing most of the talking and Leon the least, until the food arrived. But even that didn't completely stop their conversation. However, all good things must soon come to an end. Once they had finished their meal, Leon slipped out, throwing his share of the bill on the table. Soon after that, Yuffie left, leaving Cloud and Aerith to themselves. As the eighteen year old left though, she could have sworn she heard Cloud asking Aerith to dinner.

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Author's Note: There you have it. I told you ole Squallie boy would be in this chapter. And isn't he just as sweet as can be? Not! Oh, the thing where Yuffie didn't believe he was actually 27, that really happened to a friend of mine. We had just met this guy last semester at the university, and he only looked like he was maybe 20 or so. So when he said that he was 30, we didn't believe him until he pulled out his Driver's License. Also, the university where I spent my freshman year had teaching assistants (TA's) for all the labs because the professor's didn't have time to do themselves. TA's are usually graduate students working for tuition reduction. Anyways, you know the drill. READ AND REVIEW!!! More reviews = more chapters, faster.


	3. Chapter Three: Pain

Author's Note: Okay, I have to admit, I don't know anything at all about the Final Fantasy characters except what I have learned from Kingdom Hearts and KH fanfics. So, it has been pointed out to me that Squall/Leon's birthday is really Aug. 23. I apologize for changing it to June 17. However, for this story, his birthday will remain June 17. In any future stories I may write, I will use Aug. 23 as his birthday. Thank you. Also, I'm changing the genre from romance/general to romance/angst. And, on another note, this story has become a partial joint-fic between Vulpes Lapis and myself. She has given me lots of ideas for where this story is going.

Disclaimer: Okay, I don't own the Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy characters. But, I do have twenty dollars in cold hard cash right now. Do you I could buy Squall with that ?

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_Chapter Three: Pain_

Squall Leonhart looked at himself in the medicine cabinet mirror for a moment before opening it and pulling out a bottle of antidepressants. Reading the label, _Wellbutrin_, he opened it and poured out two pills, tossing them down his throat and quickly chasing them with a glass of water. He hated himself for being so weak, for being unable to cope with life without these pills. It had been two years, two long painful years since the _incident_, and he was still unable to deal with it.

_He had raced to the hospital as soon as he had received the call. Bursting through the double doors of the Emergency Room, he ran to the front desk and breathlessly asked, "Rinoa Heartily, where is she?"_

_ The elderly secretary typed the name into the computer. "Are you family?" she asked, glancing up at the frantic man._

_ "No, she's my fiancé." _

_"I'm sorry, but we're only allowing family in at the moment. You'll have to wait." She turned away from him, never giving him a second thought._

_ Squall glared at the woman, feeling as though he could reach across that desk and strangle her. Getting a grip on his anger, he realized that the secretary was no longer paying any attention to him. "The hell with waiting," he muttered as he soundlessly slipped into the long corridor where all the rooms were. He walked along, acting like he belonged until he came to the Intensive Care Unit, where Rinoa lay._

_ Seeing there was no one to stop him, he opened the door and crept in. He gasped when he saw her. She was lying perfectly still on the hospital bed, her chest only moving as the machine forced a breath into her body. Tubes and wires were attached to her everywhere. Her black hair lay limply against the pillow. He could see where the glass had scarred her once beautiful face, stitches showing where the doctor had worked on her. Squall took in a ragged breath as he viewed her, the EKG showing the slow but steady heartbeat._

_ He walked across the room in two strides, sitting on the chair beside the bed. Taking her hand in his, he lay his head across it and cried. For the first time in his life, Squall Leonhart sobbed. "It's all my fault, Rinoa. I'm so sorry." He squeezed her lifeless hand, hoping for a response. Running a hand down her cheek, fresh tears filled his eyes. "If I had just admitted that I was wrong, you wouldn't have left." _

_ The call had come an hour after Rinoa had stormed out of their apartment, claiming he didn't care about her, only himself and the marines. "If only you knew how much I really do care, Rinoa," he whispered to the still form on the bed. After their fight, Rinoa had left to sleep at a friend's house; she never made it. On the way, a truck had run the red light, crushing her little car._

_ As Squall held his head in his hands, openly weeping, he heard the shrill beep of the EKG as Rinoa's heart flat-lined. "RINOA!! SOMEONE HELP HER!!" he began to scream, gripping both of her hands in his._

_ The doctor rushed in, followed by two nurses. "Get him outta here!" the doctor yelled, jerking his thumb in Squall's direction. One of the nurses grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him away from the bed and out of the room. As they left, he could hear the doctor shouting, "Clear!" as he placed the paddles of the defibrillator on her chest._

_ "RINOA!!!" Squall cried, trying to break away from the nurse and run back to her. "Let me go!" he hissed at the surprisingly strong woman._

_ "No, there's nothing you can do." She led him to a chair and forced him to sit down. "I know it hurts, but you have to let us do our job," she calmly explained. _

_ A few minutes later, the doctor came out of the room, a sober expression on his face. Squall looked up at him. "I'm sorry, son. We did all we could. She's...gone."_

_ "No," Squall whispered as he rose from the chair and ran back to the room to see his beloved once again. But her face had already been covered by a sheet and the nurses were slowly disconnecting the tubes and wires one by one. He rushed over to her, pulling the sheet away from her pale face only to see her lifeless eyes stare back at him._

_ As he turned to leave the room, a young nurse tapped him on the shoulder. "Are you Squall?" she asked quietly._

_ He turned to look at her, "Why?"_

_ The nurse looked over at the body of Rinoa lying on the bed. "When they brought her in, she was still conscious. She said, 'tell Squall I was wrong and that I love him.' Since you're here, I figured you must be Squall."_

_ Squall shook his head, sighing before answering. "No, I'm not Squall. My name's Leon." Without another word, he left the hospital._

He had been discharged from the marines a year after her death when he had punched his commanding officer. It was then that he was diagnosed as bipolar, it was then that he began to take the much needed pills. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The days turned into weeks, and the weeks soon turned into the first month as Yuffie struggled with her classes. Especially Biology. It was becoming increasingly harder everyday, and having a rock for a lab partner didn't help matters much. She had tried countless times to engage him in some kind of conversation, but she was always left disappointed as he gave one word answers, such as, "whatever," and "yeah." 

Sighing, she threw her notebook and lab manual into her backpack and headed for her biology lab. She really didn't want to go. Today, they would be dissecting a rat. Yuffie could feel her stomach turning just with the thought of it. She hated rats to begin with, and now, they were going to make her dissect one? _Well, _she thought, _at least Squall's my partner. He'll probably take some kind of sick joy in it._

He was an enigma to her. And trying to understand him was useless. _So why do I even try? Why can I not get him out of my head?_ As she pushed these thoughts away, she walked through the science building's doors and began to climb up the stairs to the fourth floor. She reached the lab and silently set down next to Squall, the aforementioned rat lying in front of him.

"Ugh! I really don't want to do this," she told him, trying not to gag as the smell of formaldehyde wafted through the air to her nose.

He turned his icy blue glare at her. "We don't really have a choice, now do we?"

Mr. Siewort came into the room, pushing a cart with the equipment they would need for the dissection. "Okay, class. I need one person from each pair to come and retrieve the utensils you will need. And please be careful. We don't need another accident like the last time." He stared directly at Yuffie as he said this.

"I already told ya, I didn't see the cord on the floor when I tripped. Can I help it if a few of the slides broke when I fell?" she protested as a crimson blush spread across her cheeks.

"I'll get the stuff," Squall mumbled as he rose from his stool and started to walk across the lab. He came back, spreading the equipment out on the counter top. He hastily handed the scalpel to Yuffie. "Here, you make the first cut."

"Uh-uh. I don't think so, Squall." She shook her head vigorously.

"It's Leon," he growled. "Make the first cut."

"Unless you want me to puke all over you, pallie boy, I don't think so." She covered her mouth at the thought of dissecting that thing that used to be a rat.

"Fine!" He took the scalpel, and tried to make the incision, failing as his hand was shaking too much. Taking a deep breath, and willing his hand to be steady, he attempted it again, only to have his hand betray him.

Yuffie looked from his trembling hand to his face, concern coming into her eyes. "Squall, your hand is shaking," the statement almost sounding like a question.

"It's Leon. And my hand is NOT shaking," he seethed. 

"Hold your hand out," she commanded.

"No." 

"Why?"

"Why SHOULD I?" he insisted, growing tired of this.

She sighed in exasperation, "To see if you can hold it out straight."

Reluctantly, he held his hand out, the trembling becoming more obvious. "Look, it's nothing really..." he began.

Looking into his azure gaze, she asked, "Okay, what's up with you? Are you on drugs or something?"

"It's a side effect from some medication I take, okay." That was the only answer he gave her. He refused to allow an eighteen year old to pry into his life.

Yuffie reached out her hand, "Give me the scalpel."

His eyes widened. "What?! I thought you said you would puke if you--"

"Just give me the damn thing!" she interrupted. "I have to be able to do this since you obviously can't." He surrendered the scalpel as she snatched it out of his grip. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. _Big mistake, Yuffie,_ she told herself as more of the formaldehyde was inhaled. Gagging, she ran out of the room and down the hall to the restroom.

She came back a few minutes later, much paler and a sheen of sweat covering her face. She stumbled over to Squall and sat down, not looking at the rat. "So, um, how are we going to do this if your hand is shaking and I'm puking?"

Aerith walked over to Yuffie, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Do you guys need some help?" she asked quietly. The ebony haired girl nodded. "Okay, I'll go talk to the TA." Aerith went to Mr. Siewort and began talking, gesturing toward Squall and Yuffie occasionally. He finally nodded and the brunette went back to Yuffie. "He said that since y'all are having trouble, we could switch partners for the day."

"Really?" Yuffie asked, hardly believing her ears.

"Yes. Leon, you go over and help Cloud. I'll stay with Yuffie," Aerith said softly.

Squall nodded as he rose from the stool and headed in Cloud's direction. "Okay, Yuffie," Aerith began, "How far did you get?" She glanced at the still complete rat, "Oh, I see. You haven't gotten anywhere yet."

Yuffie shuddered. "No, Squall's hands were shaking and I tried, but I couldn't."

"Okay, hand me the scalpel. I'll do the cutting, but you have to help label the organs or we'll fail. Deal?" She looked at Yuffie, waiting for an answer.

"Deal."

An hour later, the thing lying on the counter could no longer be identified as a rat. However, Yuffie had done her part and was now searching through her lab manual for the names of the organs as Aerith pointed them out. Mr. Siewort came by, checking on their work. "Very good, Miss Gainesborough." He stared at Yuffie. "I suppose you weren't very much help, were you Miss Kisaragi?"

Aerith looked up at him. "No, actually, Yuffie was a great help. I wouldn't have been able to identify _any_ of these organs without her help." She smiled innocently at the TA.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yuffie dragged herself back to her dorm, skipping her last class of the day since her stomach still felt a little queasy. She trudged up the stairs to the third floor, arms wrapped around her belly. Finally reaching the door, she pulled it open to reveal Sora and Kairi, all over each other. "Kairi! I thought you were in class!" Yuffie covered her eyes, giving them some privacy as they composed themselves.

"H-Hey, Yuffie," Sora stuttered. "Didn't you have a class this afternoon?"

She peeked through her fingers, taking her hands off her eyes when she realized they were decent. "Yeah, I did. But I was sick, so I skipped it."

Kairi looked up at her worriedly, "Are you okay?"

Yuffie nodded tiredly. "Yeah, I'm fine. It was just that stupid bio lab. We had to dissect a rat today." Her stomach began to make weird noises. "Excuse me," she yelled as she made a dive for the bathroom. She came out a moment later, paler than before. "I need to lie down."

Kairi glanced over at Sora, "Sora, I think you should go." She walked him to the door, kissing him on the cheek. "Don't forget about tonight!"

"I won't," he replied as she shut the door behind him.

Yuffie raised her head woozily from the pillow, "What's tonight?" she asked.

"Oh, we're going out." Kairi tapped her chin in thought. "You know, you really need to get out more often. You haven't been out on a date since we got here."

"Kairi, please. I don't really think we should be worrying about that right now."

A smile crept across the red-head's face. "Sora's roommate! He's not seeing anyone. Oh, you'll be perfect for each other."

"You're not going to give up until I give in, are you?"

"No."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note: There you have it. I have some great ideas on where this is going. So, read and review.

  



	4. Chapter Four: Friday Night

Author's Note: Hehehe. I'm so loving this story right now. Anyways, here's the next chappie. 

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. I never will own Kingdom Hearts. So, please don't sue me.

* * *

_Chapter Four: Friday Night_

"Kairi, why are you doing this to me?" Yuffie whined as her roommate pulled out yet another skirt and blouse from the closet.

The red-head sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "Because, it's Friday night. And you shouldn't be staying here, alone, on a Friday night."

Yuffie glared at her roommate, "You're not going out tonight."

"No, but I'm not going to be alone either. Sora's coming over with a couple of movies."

"But I don't even know the guy, Kairi," she protested, reluctantly picking through the clothes Kairi had laid out on the bed. She picked up a pink skirt, curling her lips in disgust. "I am so not wearing pink," she muttered.

Kairi snatched the skirt from Yuffie's hands, hanging it back up. "I've told you, he's a really nice guy. If I wasn't dating Sora, I might go out with him myself," she admitted. She held a royal blue blouse up to Yuffie. "Trust me, you'll like him." Gesturing to the blouse in her hand, she said, "Here, wear this."

"Fine, I'll go out with him." She grabbed the blouse and a black skirt as she went to the bathroom to change. Coming out a few moments later, she asked, "Okay, how do I look?"

"Perfect. Now, let's do something with your hair." Kairi was reaching for her roommate's cropped ebony hair when Yuffie stopped her.

"Uh-uh! You are not touching my hair!" She backed away from the red-head, bumping into the sink. "I can fix my own hair." With this, she picked up a silver headband and placed it on her head, carefully arranging her hair around it. "See, I can do it myself just fine."

Kairi reached into the closet, bringing out a pair of black sandals with two-inch heels and straps that fastened just above the ankle. "These will be perfect," she said as she handed them to Yuffie who promptly sat on the bed and began to put them on. "He'll be here any minute now."

As if on cue, there was a knocking at their door. Yuffie went and looked out the peep hole, turning back to Kairi and asking, "Does he have silver hair?"

"Yeah, that's Riku alright," she chuckled as she waited for Yuffie to open the door. "Well, come on. Are you going to let him in?"

Yuffie looked at her with pleading eyes. "Do I really have to go out with him? Can't I just stay here and we can pretend I went out?" 

"For the last time, NO!" The red-head went to the door, opening it herself since her roommate apparently wasn't. "Riku!" she exclaimed. "Yuffie's just so excited about going out with you, that she's still getting ready. Could you give us a few minutes?" She shut the door back in his face before giving him a chance to answer. Looking at Yuffie, she glowered, "Now, you get your little butt out there and go enjoy yourself!"

Sighing, the black-haired girl opened the door and joined Riku in the hallway. _I am so going to kill Kairi and Sora for this, _she thought. "So, Riku, how are you?" she asked, trying to make small talk.

He looked at her confusedly, brushing his silver hair out of his face. "Fine, I guess." He looked like he felt the same way about this date as Yuffie did. "So, you ready to go?" he questioned.

Putting her famous facade on, Yuffie smiled brightly. "Of course, let's get this show on the road." Inside, she was screaming, _NO! Not now, not ever!_

* * *

After a silent car ride to the Italian restaurant, Riku and Yuffie sat at the table, neither saying anything. Unable to take the silence any longer, Yuffie spoke up. "So, Sora forced you on this date, too?"

Relief swept over Riku's face as he quietly chuckled. "Yeah. He said something along the lines of 'if you don't take her out, I'll kill you." 

"So, now that we have that out of the way, we can enjoy the evening as friends, and then go back and kill our roommates, right?"

"Sounds like a plan." His aquamarine eyes looked past her for a moment, then came quickly back to her face. "Yeah, we'll kill 'em alright."

The waiter came, taking their orders, but the whole time Riku seemed distracted, sparing occasional glances at a table behind Yuffie. Once their salads had been brought, she realized that he was paying more attention to whatever was back there than he was to her. She stole a quick glance over her shoulder and saw a young woman around their age with long black hair in a single braid down her back sitting at a table by herself. Yuffie looked back at Riku. "You like her, don't you?"

His eyes widened in shock. "What are you talking about?"

"You've been staring at her since we got here," his date stated matter-of-factly.

"N-no I haven't," he stuttered, a slight blush spreading across his cheeks.

Yuffie smiled at him. "Then why did you just pour salad dressing in your tea?"

He glanced down at his glass. Sure enough, the Thousand Island dressing was slowly dispersing itself throughout the liquid. His blush deepened, "I can explain..."

Yuffie stood up, a grin on her face. "I'll be right back," she said as she started for the young woman's table.

Terror came into his aquamarine eyes, "Wait! What are you doing?!" he hissed.

"Don't worry." She walked over to the other table, saying, "Excuse me, do you mind if I sit down for a minute?"

The other woman looked at her warily, suspicion coming into her gray eyes. "Um, yeah, I suppose you could sit for a moment."

Yuffie sat down, holding out her hand. "I'm Yuffie. And you are...?"

"Zephyr." She shook Yuffie's hand, still a little confused.

"Are you here alone, Zephyr?" Yuffie looked at the table, there were only dishes for one, so she hoped she was right about this.

Zephyr slowly nodded her head, "Yeah, I'm alone. Care to rub it in?"

Yuffie shook her head vigorously, "No, but I have a question for you." Zephyr gave her the 'go ahead' look. "You see that man over there? The one with the silver hair?" She pointed at Riku, who had conveniently turned away from them.

"Yeah, what about him?"

Yuffie smiled. "Well, he likes you. He's been staring at you since we got here." Zephyr stared at her in disbelief. "So, my question is, would you like to join him for dinner?"

Zephyr furrowed her brows in confusion. "But, isn't he _your_ date?"

Yuffie laughed. "Only because our roommates forced us to go out." She looked back the other woman. "So, what do you say?"

Zephyr looked at her like she was insane before finally answering. "Okay, I guess." With that, Yuffie signaled a waiter over and explained that Zephyr would be moving to the other table.

At the other table, Riku could hardly believe his eyes. Here came Yuffie with the young woman walking slowly behind her. Yuffie waited for Zephyr to sit down while she still stood. "Riku, this is Zephyr. Zephyr, Riku." They both said their various greetings. Yuffie smiled before saying, "Now, if you two will excuse me, I'll be leaving."

Riku looked up at her. "But, how will you get-"

Yuffie didn't let him finish. "Don't worry about me. I'll take a cab." With that, she walked out the door, leaving Zephyr and Riku to get to know one another.

* * *

Opening the door to her dorm room, Yuffie immediately saw Sora and Kairi cuddling on Kairi's bed as they watched a movie. Apparently, they didn't hear the door open, so Yuffie made sure to slam it, getting their attention.

Kairi looked at her confusedly and then looked at the clock, "Yuffie, your home early. Did something happen?"

She grinned, "Yeah, I left Riku with another girl we met."

Sora's eyes widened in anger. "He was picking up girls while he was out on a date with you?" he asked in disbelief. "When I get my hands on him, I'm gonna-"

"Now, Sora, calm down," Yuffie interrupted. "He was the perfect gentleman even though he didn't want to be there, but had to be since his _roommate_ forced him to be." She stared pointedly at the brunette. "Besides, I set him up with her."

"But...but..." Kairi couldn't finish her sentence, she was too confused. 

"That's right, Kairi. I played matchmaker for them." Yuffie glared at the two of them. "Now, maybe if you guys hadn't insisted that I go out with Riku tonight, this wouldn't have happened."

Sora opened his mouth to say something. "It was all Kairi's idea." He looked at her apologetically as she swung her arm around to hit him on the back of the head. "Ow!" he muttered as he rubbed where she had hit him.

Yuffie rolled her eyes at them. "It doesn't matter whose idea it was. The point is, you shouldn't be forcing people to go on dates." The both nodded in submission. "Okay, then. I'm going to change and go to the library so you two can have the room to yourselves." With that, she pulled a pair of jeans and t-shirt from her closet and headed for the bathroom.

* * *

Yuffie slowly walked down the aisles of books at the library, trying to find something to read while she was there. That was when she spotted him. He was sitting at one of the tables, bent over a textbook, making notes in the margin. She sauntered over to him, plopping in the chair across from him. He never looked up for his book. Annoyed, Yuffie whispered loudly, "Hi Squall!"

Raising his head to glare at her, he answered, "It's Leon!" Then he went back to his studying.

Undeterred, she asked, "What are you studying?"

"Biology." Leave it to Squall to give the shortest answers possible.

"Why?"

He gave her an icy blue scowl. "We do have an exam coming up next Friday, ya know."

"Yeah, but that's a week from now." Confusion etched her face. "Why don't you wait until the day before like everyone else?"

"Because, I would actually like to pass." He went back to studying.

Yuffie turned her attention to the room around them. The library was considerably empty, only a few students sitting at the table on the far side of the room. "But, Squall, it's Friday night?"

"Leon. And your point?"

She sighed in exasperation. "People are supposed to be out on dates on Friday night."

He looked at her pointedly. "You aren't."

"No, but I was. My roommate set me up."

He glared at her once more. "Why do you care if I spend my Friday nights studying or not?"

"I don't know. You just seem like you could use a little spice to your life," she finally admitted. He chose to ignore her, studying the book intently. Yuffie couldn't take the silence any longer. "So, why are you here?"

"Are you really that stupid or do you just act like it?" he said irritably. "I'm studying. I thought we went over that already."

"No, I mean, why are you in college? Why didn't you stay in the marines?" She knew that her curiosity was getting the best of her. 

Squall's icy blue eyes narrowed at her, "You know, curiosity killed the cat."

"Yeah, but satisfaction brought it back," she quipped, smiling broadly. "So, come on, tell me," she persisted.

He slammed his book shut and got up to leave. "I don't want to talk about it."

Yuffie jumped up and followed him. "Where are you going?"

"Some place where I can study in peace," he seethed, turning to glare at her.

She ran up behind him, "Wait, Squall! I'll leave. You can go back and study," she whispered.

"It's Leon!" he muttered as he walked past her and back to the table, opening his book once again.

Yuffie gave him one last glance as she left the library and headed back for her dorm, hoping Sora and Kairi would forgive her for coming back so soon.

* * *

Author's Note: This chapter came out shorter than I hoped, but here it is. Oh, by the way, I don't own Zephyr. She is an original character created by Vulpes Lapis. If you want to read more about Riku and Zephyr (or Squffie, C/A, S/K) you should check out "Other Halves and Other Tales" and "Paint the Sky with Stars" by Vulpes Lapis. Anyways, Read and Review! I should have another chapter up by Thursday night.


	5. Chapter Five: Of Boxers and SixPacks

_Author's Note: _I know there hasn't been a lot of actual "squiffieness" in this squiffie, but don't worry. I'm leading up to it. I mean, come on, we all know that Squall and Yuffie never get along in the beginning. So, anyways, dear readers, just keep reading the story and eventually there will be lots of fluffy squiffieness. (I know that's not a word, but it is now) And...I have some plans for Yuffie and Squall in the near future. *laughs evilly* By the way, I really wanted to get this written and posted last night, but I had a migraine...so this had to wait.

Disclaimer: Yeah, I own them all. I even have Squall chained up so he can't run away. ^_~

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

_Chapter Five: Of Boxers and Six-Packs_

Yuffie walked to the parking lot, the light fading as day turned into night. "Now, where did I park the stupid thing?" she mumbled to herself. _There it is, on the back row,_ she silently answered when she saw her small white Dodge Neon. She let out a silent chuckle when she remembered her new bumper sticker that read: _I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it._ Sighing, she continued across the parking lot and climbed into her car. She reached into her backpack and pulled out the slip of paper with the address on it. _Why am I doing this? _she asked herself for the hundredth time. As she drove out of the parking lot, she thought back to that morning.

_"Hey," Aerith whispered as she tapped Yuffie on the shoulder in their bio lab before Squall had arrived. "Have you studied for our exam on Friday yet?"_

_ Yuffie shook her head, "No, I figured I would cram like I always do on Thursday night."_

_ The older woman rolled her bright green eyes. "Is this your first exam at the university?"_

_ "Yeah, why?"_

_ Aerith sighed, "Exams in college are not like they are in high school. You can't cram everything into your head the night before." _

_ "So, what do you think I should do, then?" Yuffie asked._

_ Aerith smiled. "There's going to be a study group tonight and then again on Thursday night. You should come." She handed the younger woman a slip of paper with an address written on it. "Here, be there at six."_

_ "Um, okay...do I need to bring anything?"_

_ "No, just yourself and your notes." Aerith went back to her seat next to Cloud as Squall and the TA walked into the lab._

_ Yuffie turned to her partner, "Hey Squall, are you going to the study group thing tonight?"_

_ He winced. "They invited you, huh? And, it's Leon, for the last time." _

_ She raised one eyebrow at him. "Um, yeah...Aerith did. Why?"_

_ He turned his icy blue glare to her. "It's at my apartment."_

Pushing the recent memory aside, Yuffie pulled into the apartment complex, surprised at how nice it appeared. Most college students either lived on campus or in apartments that leave a lot to be desired. But not Squall. Apparently, he had some money saved up from somewhere. Either that, or he was a drug dealer on the side. She still remembered the way his hands had been shaking when dissecting that rat. And, she wasn't completely sure she bought his explanation. 

Shaking her head at her thoughts, she parked the car and slowly stepped out, grabbing her backpack as she did so. She looked around, trying to find apartment 364. Finding a sign pointing her in the right direction, she made her way around the complex. She ascended the stairs to the third floor and walked down the corridor to his apartment. The curtains in the window were open, allowing her to see Aerith and Cloud sitting on the loveseat, a textbook open between them. As Yuffie raised her hand to knock, the door came flying open. She gasped, placing a hand on her chest. "Geez, Squall, you could've given me a heart attack."

"It's Leon. And you're late," he growled, opening the door wide enough for her to slip past him and into the impeccably clean living room. Besides the dark blue loveseat where Cloud and Aerith sat, there was a matching couch and recliner and a long glass-top coffee table. The walls were fairly sparse, only a few pictures hanging on them. One picture in particular caught Yuffie's eye. It was of a young woman with deep brown eyes and beautiful black hair.

Coming out of the trance she had fallen into as she viewed his apartment, Yuffie looked at her watch, "It's only 6:05. I'm not that late. I had trouble finding the place."

"But you're late, nonetheless." He slammed the door shut behind her and stalked over to a chair placed near the coffee table where there were notes spread across the glass top.

Aerith looked up from the textbook she was studying to smile at Yuffie. "I'm glad you came, Yuf." She pointed to the kitchen. "I brought some drinks and chips if you want to get some before you sit down."

"Thank you, Aerith. I'm glad that someone's happy I'm here," she said, glaring at Squall pointedly. She placed her backpack next to the table and headed for the kitchen, which was just as clean as the living room. _Hm, he must be a neat freak. Who'd a thunk?, _she thought to herself. She rummaged around in the cabinets until she found a glass and poured herself some Dr. Pepper. Grabbing a bag of potato chips, she went back to the small group in the living room.

She plopped down on the floor, sitting Indian style and tore open the bag of chips. As she crunched on a mouthful, she asked, "So, who else is coming tonight?"

Cloud looked at her with his bright blue eyes. "No one. The rest of the class is planning on cramming the night before." Yuffie averted her eyes, remembering that she had been intending to do the same. "Freshmen can be really stupid sometimes," the blonde said. He glanced at Yuffie and Squall quickly. "Present company excluded, of course," he apologized.

"I'll admit it. I was going to cram until Aerith talked me into coming along with you guys," the eighteen year old stated calmly. "Anyways, what chapters are we studying tonight?" she asked as she opened her massive biology book.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After spending two hours asking each other questions about the chapters, Yuffie sighed loudly. "How long are we going to do this?" she whined.

Aerith looked at her watch. "I guess we could take a break...watch a little T.V. maybe." She glanced around at the group, noticing their silent nods.

Yuffie got up off the floor and went to set on the end of the couch, grabbing the remote control on her way. "Ooh, I think Emeril Live is on." She was turning it to the Food Network when Squall grabbed the remote from her hand. "Hey, give it back!"

"No. I'm not going to watch that idiot say "Bam!" every time he throws something in the bowl." Squall channel surfed for a moment before settling on A & E. He lay the controller down on the coffee table as he sat on the far end of the same couch where Yuffie sat. Glaring at Yuffie, he was almost daring her to try and take the remote back.

Over on the loveseat, Cloud had his arms wrapped around Aerith as they watched the movie. "I love this movie!" Aerith exclaimed as she leaned back against the blonde.

Yuffie looked at the screen, seeing that it was a black and white movie, but what she didn't know. "What movie is this, anyways?" Everyone turned their eyes on her, looking at her like she was insane.

It was Squall who finally answered her. "It's _Casablanca_. I thought everyone had seen it. But," he paused, "apparently I was wrong. I guess it's not a movie that little kids like you would watch."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not a little kid. I'm eighteen, going on nineteen." The anger from her voice could be felt throughout the room. She hated it when people called her a little kid simply because she was younger than them.

Squall muttered, "whatever," then turned back to watch the movie while Yuffie sat there, trying to keep control of her rage. Taking a few deep calming breaths, she began to watch the movie, becoming totally engrossed with the characters' lives. She spared a glance to Aerith and Cloud, then quickly averted her gaze when she noticed that seem to have forgotten everyone else around them. Cloud had the woman pressed down into the loveseat, assaulting her throat with his mouth while she tangled her hands in this spiky blonde hair. _Well, _Yuffie thought, _I guess that means there won't be any more studying tonight._

"Wow," Yuffie mumbled when the movie ended. She couldn't believe that Squall would actually watch something like this. It was so romantic and he seemed like such a tough guy. _Maybe there's more to him than meets the eye._ She thought about this for a moment before pushing the thought away. _No, he's still a jerk._

Squall turned the T.V. off, catching the attention of the two lovebirds on the loveseat. They quickly sat up, straightening their clothes as a crimson blush spread across Aerith's face. The ex-marine stared at them, a look of sadness coming into his eyes. But, it left as quickly as it had come. He stood up, stretching as he did so. "I guess you guys will be back on Thursday to finish studying?" he asked.

They all nodded as they picked up their various bags and books and headed for the door. Squall followed them, shutting and locking the door behind them. Glad to have his apartment back to himself, he went and lay down on the couch. _Of all the movies and shows on T.V., I just had to pick Casablanca, didn't I? _he silently mused. He felt the overwhelming sadness seeping into this being. The last time he had watched _Casablanca _had been the night before Rinoa had been killed.

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Yuffie walked into her dorm room and found Kairi alone, for once. "Where's Sora? I thought he was supposed to be here tonight?" she asked as she threw her keys onto the desk.

The red-head looked up from the book she was reading to answer her roommate. "He was, but he has an exam tomorrow, so he went back to study." Kairi eyed her curiously, "How did your study group go?"

"It was okay. I think it really helped." She sat on her bed to take her shoes off. "We're going to finish studying on Thursday since we got distracted tonight."

Kairi glanced at her strangely, "Distracted? How did you guys get distracted?"

Yuffie took a deep breath, "Well, we took what was going to be a short break, but it turned out to be a lot longer. We ended up watching a movie." Yuffie paused a moment, remembering Cloud and Aerith. "Actually, Squall and I watched a movie. Cloud and Aerith were too busy making out."

"Oh. What movie did you watch?"

"Some black and white movie called _Casablanca. _It was pretty good..." she trailed off when she saw her roommate clutch her stomach with laughter. "Care to share the joke?"

"Oh my gosh, Yuffie! You don't know?!" the red-head exclaimed.

Yuffie furrowed her brows in confusion. "Know what?"

"The legend!"

"What legend?"

Kairi took a few shaky breaths, trying to stop laughing. "Don't you know that you're supposed to marry whoever you watch _Casablanca_ with?"

Yuffie's eyes went wide. "What?!"

"You heard me."

"But...but..." She stopped for a moment. "You've got to be kidding!"

"No, it's true. My parents both watched it when they were dating and now look." Kairi got a mischievous glint in her eyes. "You're going to marry Squall."

"I can't marry Squall. He hates me. Besides, Cloud and Aerith were there, too." Yuffie digested this thought for a moment. "What if I marry Cloud?! Or Aerith?!"

Kairi laughed. "You said they were making out during the movie, remember? I don't think you have to worry about those two."

Yuffie ran her hands through her short hair. "No, you have to be wrong." She started pacing. "Besides, it's only a legend. It's not like it's really going to happen or anything." 

"Then why are you getting so worked up about it, Yuf?" the red-head asked. "Like you said, it's only a legend." She went back to the book she was reading.

Yuffie sat back down on her bed, going through her backpack. "Damn it!" she exclaimed.

"What?" Kairi never even looked up from her book when she asked.

Yuffie gulped. "I left my notebook at Squall's."

The red-head rolled her eyes. "Then go back and get it, silly." 

"I can't go back and get it. He'll kill me." 

"Why would he kill you?"

"Because he hates me. I already told you that."

Kairi shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, then don't go get your notebook. It doesn't matter to me."

Yuffie grabbed her car keys. "I'll be back in about half an hour," she shouted as she walked through the door.

Twenty minutes later, Kairi heard the door open. Without looking up, she asked, "Did you get your notebook?" Yuffie didn't answer her. Marking her place in the book, Kairi sat up and looked at her roommate, who appeared to be in a daze. "Yuffie, did you get your notebook?" she asked again.

Yuffie slowly shook her head, murmuring, "No."

"Was he even at home?" Kairi was determined to get to the bottom of this. Her roommate nodded, still with a glazed look in her face. "Well," Kairi began, "what happened?"

"He answered the door...he answered the door..." Yuffie stuttered.

"Spit it out, girl!" Kairi yelled.

"He answered the door...in his boxers..."

"Yeah, and?"

Yuffie stared at her a moment before shouting, "HE ANSWERED THE DOOR IN HIS BOXERS!"

"He have a six-pack or a beer-gut?"

A small smile crept across Yuffie's face. "Six-pack...definitely a six-pack."

"Wait a minute, Yuffie," Kairi began, "he opened the door in his boxers and you just stood there like an idiot?"

"Hell, no!" Yuffie exclaimed. "I saw him through the window before he got to the door, and I ran like hell back to my car." She walked over to her bed and lay down, sighing.

"Yuffie, you might want to get a grip on yourself. And quit drooling over him. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you actually like this guy." Kairi smirked, she knew her roommate hated the man.

Yuffie looked across the room at her and smiled before quietly whispering, "Maybe I do...maybe I do."

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Author's Note: Here ya go. I told you the squiffieness would start soon. Although, it may be one-sided for awhile. I do have the next 5 chapters outlined, but it may take awhile to write them. There is a difference between outlining and writing. So anyways, Read and Review. Expect the next chapter by Sunday night at the latest. I'll probably start it tomorrow night. Oh, and a big thank you to the reviewers. 


	6. Chapter Six: Nosiness

Author's Note: Okay. Here's Chapter Six. Thank you for all the reviews. I'm glad that everyone likes the story so far.

Disclaimer: If you really need this, maybe you shouldn't be reading this story.

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_Chapter Six: Nosiness_

Just as Yuffie sat down on the back row of the auditorium of her biology class Wednesday morning, she felt a tap on the shoulder. Looking up, she saw Squall's face, his long russet bangs falling into his azure eyes. Remembering the night before, she started blushing. "Y-Yes?" she stammered.

He held her notebook out to her. "You left this at my apartment last night."

"Thank you," she said quickly as she grabbed it, trying to turn her head so he wouldn't notice the crimson spreading across her cheeks. He continued to stand there, just staring down at her. "Is there anything else, Squall?" she asked quietly.

He furrowed his brows, "It's Leon. You didn't happen to come back last night to get it, did you?"

Yuffie gulped, the image of Squall in his boxers flashing in her mind, causing her blush to deepen. "No, I didn't even realize it was gone until just now," she calmly stated, the lie coming out smooth. "Why?"

Squall shook his head, "No reason. It must have been the neighborhood kids, playing pranks." He looked down toward the front of the room, where he normally sat, but it was already full. Sighing, he asked, "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"No, go ahead." She moved her backpack out of the empty seat beside her so Squall could sit down. He scooted past her and plopped down in the seat, dropping his book bag as he did so. It took every ounce of control Yuffie possessed to keep her blush to a minimum as she glanced at the man beside her. 

Squall turned his head to look at the young woman beside him, who was busy writing down every word the professor said in her notebook. Sure, she was annoying as hell. And he could not understand why anyone would ever even try to be as perky as her. But, on the other hand, there was something about her that was starting to get to him. Something alluring. He had not allowed himself to feel this way about anyone since Rinoa. _Leon, get a grip on yourself. She's only eighteen, _he chided himself. "So, are you coming to the study group again tomorrow night?" he whispered to her.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Yuffie looked at him with confusion. _Does he actually want me there?_ she silently questioned.

Realizing that he might be showing something more than dislike for the girl, he quickly answered. "Damn! I was hoping to be able to get some actual studying done." _There, _he thought, _that ought to throw her off the trail._

Yuffie's eyes narrowed in anger. "Oh, don't worry, Squall. The only reason I'm going is because Aerith made me promise. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be there."

"It's Leon, for the last time," he growled as he turned his attention to the professor at the front of the large room.

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Thursday evening found Yuffie rummaging through her closet, desperate for something decent to wear. She had already pulled out at least half a dozen outfits, which were now strewn around the room. Kairi sat on her bed, watching her roommate pull out another reject from the closet and throw it on the floor.

"Ya know, Yuffie, you could just wear what you have on? I mean, this is just a study thing, not a date," the red-head calmly stated.

Yuffie turned to face her roommate. "But, I want to look nice. I want Squall to notice me." She went back to ransacking her wardrobe.

Kairi laughed softly. "Before you saw him in his boxers, you could care less what you wore. Now look at you. You're more worked up over this than you were about you're date with Riku." She stood up and went to her closet, hoping to find something in there for her roommate.

"If you saw him in his boxers, you'd be doing the same thing." The ebony-haired woman pulled out a pair of flared blue jeans with blue flowers embroidered up the legs. "How about these?" she asked Kairi.

The red-head gave her the thumbs up as she pulled out a light blue blouse. The long sleeves were made from a sheer blue material and the collar had small designs interwoven in the fabric. "Here, try this on," she said as she tossed the shirt to Yuffie.

Yuffie gasped, "But, Kairi, this is so beautiful! I couldn't possibly wear it!" She started to hand it back to her roommate, only to have it refused.

Kairi shook her head. "No, I never wear it. I want you to have it, for keeps." She ignored Yuffie's stare. "Besides, the color looks better on you anyways."

Yuffie gushed a quick 'thank you' as she ran to the bathroom to change into her ensemble. Coming out, she let out a soft squeal of delight when she saw that Kairi was right; that shade of blue looked perfect on her. "Oh my gosh, Kairi! I can't believe this! Thank you so much for the shirt! I don't know how I'll ever make it up to you."

Sighing, Kairi muttered, "Just give me and Sora some alone time in the room once in awhile." But, either Yuffie didn't hear her or she chose to ignore her, as the joke Kairi expected from her never came. 

"I need shoes! What shoes am I going to wear?!" Shoes came flying out of the closet as Yuffie picked up, examined, and discarded pair after pair. 

"Yuffie!" Kairi shouted. "For crying out loud! Do you want him to notice your shoes or you?" Her roommate looked at her in shock. "Fine! Just wear your boots. That way you'll be a little bit taller at least."

Yuffie reached into the back of her closet and found the boots in question. They were old, but they were comfortable and they still looked nice. "You're absolutely right, Kairi. I want him to notice me, not my shoes. Plus, if I'm taller, maybe he'll notice me more." She sat on the bed and began lacing the boots up as Kairi slapped her forehead in disgust. 

Finishing with her boots, Yuffie went to the sink where all the makeup and perfumes sat. She picked up a Gardenia perfume and was about to spray it on when Kairi stopped her. "Yuffie, I know you want him to notice you, but how obvious do you want to be? If you put on that perfume, he's going to know right off the bat."

Yuffie thought for a moment before slowly putting the perfume back down on the sink. "Okay, you have a point. This will have to do...for now." With that, she picked up the wooden hairbrush and began to brush her short black hair. "There, I'm ready to go," she finally announced.

"It's about time. You're running late," Kairi grumbled.

"WHAT?!" Yuffie shouted as she glance at the clock on the bedside table. 6:07. "I was supposed to be there at six. He's going to kill me." She grabbed her car keys and ran out the door.

Kairi rolled her eyes as the door slammed shut behind her roommate. "She's fallen for that guy. Hard," she mumbled as she picked up the phone to call Sora.

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Yuffie raised her hand to knock on the door, expecting Squall to swing it open before her fist hit it like he did the time before. However, that didn't happen. In fact, she stood there knocking for what seemed like hours before he did finally open the door. She began apologizing before he even opened his mouth.

"I know I'm late. I'm so sorry, but my car...you see, I had a flat tire." She smiled as the lie slipped from her mouth.

"Whatever," Squall muttered as he opened the door wider for her to enter the apartment. 

Looking around, Yuffie noticed that Aerith and Cloud weren't there. "Um, where's Cloud and Aerith?" she asked timidly.

The man ran a hand through his russet locks, sighing. "Aerith called to say that Cloud's sick and she's over there _nursing_ him back to health."

An image of what Aerith's nursing might include floated through Yuffie's mind. "Oh, so it's just you and me tonight?" She tried to keep the eagerness out of her voice, but feared that she was failing miserably. She hoped that Squall wouldn't catch it.

"Yeah. Just you and me." With that, he slammed the door shut behind them and stalked across the room to the couch. "Truth be told, I was hoping you wouldn't come."

Yuffie glared at him. "Thank you, Mr. Congeniality. I'm so glad that I'm wanted around here." Sarcasm dripped from her voice with the statement. She turned around to leave, but was stopped by his voice.

"Since you're here though, we might as well try to study together. Maybe we can actually learn something." He opened his biology textbook as well as his notebook.

She rolled her eyes, "Well, gee, when you put it that way, how can I resist?" she said sarcastically as she went and sat on the other end of the couch. They studied for awhile, but Yuffie had a hard time focusing on the text and not the man at the other end of the couch. Sure he was mean to her, but still, she was drawn to him. She couldn't explain it, nor did she want to. "Hey, Squall, could you explain this to me?" she asked quietly as she pointed to a section in her book.

"It's Leon," he growled as he took the book from her hands and tried to explain mitosis to her. Noticing her yawn, he stopped. "I can't help you if you don't pay attention."

Yuffie rubbed the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. "I know, I know. It's just so...boring." She stood up, stretching, "Hey, where's your bathroom at?"

He pointed down the hall, "Last door on your left." Thinking for a moment, he hollered, "And don't go nosing around in anything."

She rolled her eyes and started down the hall. Once she reached the bathroom, she turned on the light and shut the door, taking care to lock it. An evil grin spread across her face. "Don't go nosing around," she mimicked as she opened the medicine cabinet. "I wonder if he has any Advil or something. All this studying is giving me a headache," she mumbled under her breath. Rummaging around the bottles of pills in the cabinet, she saw it. A bottle of prescription drugs. Furrowing her brows, she pulled it out and read the label: _Wellbutrin._ "Hmm," she wondered as she made a quick mental note to look the drug up on the Internet when she returned to her dorm that night. Carefully placing it back on the shelf in what she hoped was the same position, she finally found the Advil. Sighing with relief, she quickly poured out two pills and swallowed them with some water.

She came back to the living room, sitting back down on the couch, this time a little bit closer to Squall. Looking around, she noticed the picture of the beautiful woman on the wall again. "So, Squall who's that in the picture?" she asked as she pointed to it.

He turned an icy blue glare in her direction, "It's Leon. And it's none of your damn business who she is."

"Oh, an ex-girlfriend, I take it?" She knew she was pushing her luck, but curiosity was getting the better of her.

Squall closed his eyes and counted to ten before answering her. "I told you, it's none of your business." A sudden wave of sadness came over him as he remembered when that picture of Rinoa had been taken, the day after he had proposed to her. He glowered at Yuffie. "Now, we can either study or you can leave? Your choice."

"Geez, Squall, it was only a question. You don't have to get all angry about it."

"Leon, and you know what, you don't have a choice anymore. Get out!" he bellowed as he pointed toward the door.

"Fine!" she shouted as she stalked to the door. "I hope you fail the test tomorrow, Squall!"

"Leon!" he yelled to the slamming door. Placing a hand across his eyes, he tried to stop the images of Rinoa from running through his mind, but it was no use. She was there and she refused to leave him in peace.

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Kairi looked up from the T.V. when she heard the door slam shut and saw Yuffie stomp over and throw herself on the bed. "So, I take it your study group didn't go as planned?"

Yuffie glared at her. "I don't want to talk about it."

"And I guess Squall didn't notice you, either, huh?"

"I said, I don't want to talk about it!"

"Sheesh, I was only asking a question. You don't have to get all bitchy on me."

Remembering the bottle of pills she had found in Squall's medicine cabinet, Yuffie went over to her computer and began a search for the drug. As soon as she typed in the name _Wellbutrin_, a hundred different sites came up. She went to the first one she found and read what it was used to treat. "Oh my gosh!" she gasped.

Intrigued, Kairi asked, "What?"

"Squall...he's suffering from depression," she muttered as she continued to read about the drug.

"What are you talking about, Yuffie?" the red-head asked confusedly.

Sighing, Yuffie explained. "When I was at his apartment, I happened to stumble across a bottle of pills in his medicine cabinet. So, I thought I would look them up and see what they were for." She thought back to the way he had reacted when she asked about the picture on his wall. "The picture....I bet she has something to do with this," she stammered.

Kairi rubbed her forehead in confusion. "Okay, what about a picture?"

"There's a picture on his wall of a beautiful woman. I asked him about it, and he got all defensive. She must be the key to his depression."

"Yuffie, when are you going to learn to stay out of other people's business?"

She grinned. "Never. But, hey, now that I know he's depressed, maybe I can un-depress him."

Kairi shook her head. "Yuffie, it doesn't work like that. You can't just 'un-depress' someone just like that. It takes time."

"Well, I can try, can't I?"

The red-head rubbed her eyes, "Yuffie, if you value your life, I think you should leave Squall alone. I don't think he'd appreciate you meddling in his life."

"How would you know? You've never even met him," Yuffie retorted.

"I don't need to meet him. You talk about him enough. And he sounds like a very personal man."

"Whatever. Look, it's my life and I'm going to do what I think is right, okay?"

"Sure. What type of flowers should I send to your funeral?"

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Author's Note: Well, there you have it. I don't know how long it'll be before the next chapter is up. A lot of stuff has been going on at school lately. I have 2 papers due within the next two weeks. Plus, I have a midterm a week from Wednesday. But anyways, I'll get the next chapter up and running as soon as I have time for it. You know the drill. Read and Review.


	7. Chapter Seven: A Trick or A Treat?

Author's Note: Okay, I have to apologize. I think my summary was too misleading, so I've changed it now. I've had a couple of reviews asking for my Sora/Kairi interaction, but this story is mainly focused on Yuffie/Squall. I'm sorry if I've mislead anybody about this story and I hope to keep my readers and reviewers. Anyways, here's chapter 7. 

Oh, and this chapter will have underage drinking. I, myself, do not support underage drinking, but it is in this chapter, so if you have a problem with that, don't read it. Please don't flame me for it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story unless it is an original character created by me. I do occasionally use original characters created by Vulpes Lapis with her permission. (And you should read her stories)

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_Chapter Seven:_ _A Trick or A Treat_?

Yuffie walked into the dorm room and threw her backpack over by the cluttered desk before throwing herself onto the small bed. Sighing loudly, she rolled over and buried her face in the pillow, much to the amusement of her red-headed roommate.

"So, Yuffie, I take it your biology exam wasn't a walk in the park, huh?" Kairi asked, a smile playing across her face.

Yuffie looked up long enough to give her an angry glare. As she buried her head back into the pillows, a muffled "I don't want to talk about it" floated across the room to Kairi.

"Well, Yuffie, you can sit there and mope about the exam, or you can come with me to pick out a Halloween costume."

Sitting up, Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you're going Trick-or-Treating. That is so childish."

"No, I'm not going Trick-or-Treating. Sora knows a guy who knows a guy who knows where there's going to be a Halloween party tomorrow night." Kairi noticed the interest coming into Yuffie's eyes. "So, I'm going today to get a costume. Do you want to come?"

"Can anyone come to this party? Or do you have to be invited?" Yuffie asked, a plan involving her and Squall forming in her mind.

Kairi grinned. "It's open to anyone. You just have to know how to get there."

"Okay, then. What are we waiting for? Let's go get _our _costumes." Yuffie grabbed her car keys, preferring to drive herself and Kairi to the costume rental store since Kairi had a habit of hitting parked cars. 

Once at the store, Yuffie and Kairi went their separate ways to find the perfect costume for themselves. Yuffie spent a long time looking through the various princess and Renaissance gowns, but they just didn't seem like her style. She moved further to the back of the store where the more adult looking costumes were kept. That was when she saw it. She immediately took the costume to the fitting room and tried it on. Coming out to look at herself in the mirror, she saw Kairi walk in the room, carrying one of the princess gowns that Yuffie had disregarded. 

Kairi took one glance at Yuffie and gasped, "You're not actually going to rent _that_, are you?"

Yuffie grinned as she spun around to look at her back in the mirror. "Yeah. I think I will. Do you think Squall will notice me now?"

The red-head looked at her a moment, mouth agape, before slowly nodding. "Yeah, he'll notice you...along with every other male in the room. But how are you going to get Squall to come? He doesn't seem like the party person."

"Maybe if I go pick him up at his apartment wearing this, he'll come." Yuffie had a wicked grin on her face as she went back to change back into her blue jeans and t-shirt. When she came out, Kairi was modeling her princess dress. It consisted of a light purple full-skirt, a darker purple bodice with white lacing, and a white shift underneath it all. The sleeves of the dress were puffy at the shoulder, then fit snugly down the rest of Kairi's arms. 

"So, Yuffie, what do you think?" she asked as she continued to stare at herself in the mirror.

Yuffie smirked. "I just gotta say that Sora's going to have a hard time getting you out of that dress with all that lacing in the front." Kairi's face turned a couple of shades of crimson while Yuffie stood there laughing at her. "But, really Kairi, that dress looks perfect on you."

The two girls went to the cashier at the front of the large shop and made their arrangements for renting the two costumes. The cashier gave Yuffie a strange look, but refrained from any comments as the costume was laid on the counter.

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Halloween, for Squall, was like any other night of the year. Except for the fact that all the neighborhood kids felt like they had to egg his door since he refused to give candy to the few trick-or-treaters brave enough to knock. So, when the doorbell rang, he fully expected to find egg on his door. However, much to his surprise, Yuffie was standing there. In a bunny costume. A playboy bunny costume. 

Squall gulped as he glanced at the costume, starting with her knee-high black boots up to her stockinged legs. His eyes kept their journey upward as he stared at what appeared to be a black swimsuit with a sleeveless tuxedo top and long tails in the back. At her wrists, she wore white cuffs. And, to make the costume complete, upon her head sat the bunny ears, peeking out of her ebony hair.

"Um...Yuffie...what are you doing here?" he finally managed to stammer out, fighting to keep his eyes on her face and not the rest of her.

She held back the laughter as she realized that her plan had worked: she definitely had his attention now. "I'm going to a Halloween party. And you're going with me," she stated, her voice firm.

He raised his eyebrows at her demand. "Oh, really? And if I say no?" he questioned.

She put on an innocent smile, "Then I'll just stay here and bug you until you give up and come with me." Beginning to shiver in the cool October air, she asked, "Are you going to let me in or let me stand out here and freeze? This costume's not the warmest thing in the world, ya know."

Risking another glance at her below the neck, he silently agreed with her comment and stepped away from the door, allowing her entrance to his apartment. He thought desperately for an excuse not to go to the party. "Uh, Yuffie...I can't go to the party. I don't have a costume."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Squall, you're an ex-marine. I'm sure you have a uniform in here somewhere, now don't you?" 

"Leon." He rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "Yeah, I have a uniform, but I don't-"

"Then go put it on, silly," Yuffie interrupted. Ignoring his look of annoyance, she started down the hall to where she thought his bedroom might be.

Squall grabbed her bare arm. "Where do you think you're going?" he demanded.

"To go get your costume. Geez, you need this party more than I thought." She shook her head in exasperation. "You really should lighten up."

"If I put on the uniform, will you leave me alone?"

Yuffie grinned, "Sure."

"Fine." With that, he continued down the hall to his room, Yuffie following him. He turned back to look at her. "Are you going to watch me change?"

Smirking, she replied, "No, not on a first date...I think I'll wait til the second."

He glared at her. "This is NOT a date," he growled as he slammed the door in her face.

A few moments later, Squall stepped out of the bedroom in his uniform: the black jacket with brass buttons, black pants with an ironed crease, black boots, a white belt, and as he was walking out of the room, he grabbed the white cap and white gloves. He placed the cap on his head, his long russet hair peeking out beneath it and pulled the gloves on. 

Yuffie gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "Wow, you look..." she trailed off, not wanting him to know that she thought he looked damn good in that uniform.

Squall glanced in her direction. "I look what?" he asked.

"I was gonna say you look hot." She blushed. "You know, like that uniform is hot because of the thick material," she quickly covered, hoping he wouldn't see her blush. "So, are you ready to go?"

He sighed resignedly, "If you're going to make me go, let's get it over with." Actually, he didn't mind the thought of going to that party with Yuffie, but with her dressed like that, he had to keep thinking about cold showers. "So, you're driving, I presume?" he asked as they walked to the front door.

"I didn't really think about it." Realizing how small her Dodge Neon was, she inquired, "What kind of car do you have?"

"An Avalanche...why?"

"We better take yours then. Mine is a Neon...it's awfully cramped inside."

"Yuffie, why do we need a lot of room in the car? Do you think we're going to need the backseat or something?" he asked sarcastically.

Her face turned a few interesting shades of red. "Fine, we'll take my car." She pulled the keys out of her purse as they walked across the parking lot to her car. Sliding into the driver's seat, she leaned over and unlocked the passenger door for Squall, who lowered himself slowly into the car, having to take his cap off so it wouldn't hit the doorframe. Yuffie started the car, the radio blaring and making Squall nearly jump out of the car. "Sorry," she told him apologetically as she turned it down and began the drive across town.

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"Are you sure it's on this street, Squall? It seems kinda quiet here."

"For the last time, my name is Leon. And, according to the address you gave me, it should be over the hill." As he said this, the car climbed to the top of the hill and they were able to see the scene below: cars lined the street, blocking driveways, and college students milled about in various costumes. 

Finding a spot fairly close to where the party actually was, Yuffie parallel parked her small car, grinning in satisfaction. "I did it! I parallel parked!" she crowed.

"Good for you," Squall muttered as he got out of the car and waited for Yuffie to get out. They started down the street, falling in with the crowd, and eventually came to the house where all the noise seemed to be coming from.

As they walked up to the door, a princess and someone wearing a hospital gown passed by. Recognizing the princess gown, Yuffie hollered, "Kairi! I want you to meet Squall."

"It's Leon," Squall told Kairi as she and the guy in the hospital gown turned around to meet him.

As Kairi and Squall shook hands, Yuffie squinted at the guy with Kairi. He seemed familiar, but with him hunched over, she couldn't tell. He finally looked up at her, his bright blue eyes giving him away. "Sora! I didn't recognize you!" 

"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot tonight." Sora shrugged and pulled a jar with something floating in it out of his gown. 

Confused, Yuffie asked, "What are you supposed to be anyway?"

Sora gave her his trademark smile. "I'm a brain donor. See?" He pointed to the stitches across his forehead and the jar in his hand. "I put cauliflower in some water to be my brain."

Yuffie chuckled while Squall looked at the boy like he was insane. "Oh, I forgot to introduce you. Sora, this is Squall. Squall, Sora."

"My name is Leon," Squall hissed at Yuffie.

"Whatever," she sighed. "Can we just get inside now? I'm freezing my butt off."

"Maybe if you hadn't worn that, you wouldn't," Kairi suggested as she and Yuffie fell behind the guys.

Yuffie leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Yeah, but I wouldn't have gotten a reaction out of Squall either. I tell you, he was checking me out."

Kairi smiled and shook her head. "You're pathetic, Yuffie. Why are you so focused on him? Why not some other guy? Hell, you could have any guy here while you're dressed like that."

"You just don't get it, do you? There's something about him that I can't explain." Yuffie sighed much like a love-sick teenager. "Something intriguing, something alluring."

Kairi didn't answer her, just simply shook her head at her roommate's man of choice. They reached the door and walked through, finding a lot more people inside the house than outside. An amazing feat. The two girls took their purses to the back room where everyone was leaving their coats and such. Just as they were about to leave the room, they heard a gasp.

"Yuffie? Is that you?" a shocked voice asked.

"Um...yeah. Is there a problem?" Yuffie replied as she turned to see Aerith, dressed in the same costume as Kairi...except pink instead of purple.

"No. I was just kind of surprised to see you...dressed like that," she stammered, still in shock at the way her friend had dressed. "Did you come here alone?"

Yuffie grinned. "No, I managed to talk Squall into coming. He's out there somewhere, don't know where exactly, but he's there." She noticed the similarities between her two friend's gowns. "And about the costume. At least I haven't seen anyone else dressed like me," she said pointedly.

The three young women left the room, and wandered back to where the rest of the crowd was dancing. Yuffie immediately spotted Squall leaning against the far wall, his uniform setting him apart from all the others. Not far from him, stood Cloud, dressed as a Renaissance nobleman. Yuffie glanced at Aerith and whispered, "Matching costumes, huh? Cute." Aerith just grinned as she made her way over to him.

Yuffie sauntered over to the kitchen, finding ice chests full of various alcoholic beverages. She reached into one and pulled out a wine cooler before meandering through the people to where Squall was standing. However, before she got there, she was stopped by a familiar looking young woman in Renaissance type dress. The dress consisted of a flouncy-sleeved muslin shift which left her shoulders uncovered, a brown velvet bodice with front laces, a red skirt, and leather armguards with celtic horses. 

"You're Yuffie, right?" the gray-eyed woman asked.

"Yes..."

"You don't remember me, do you?"

"Well, you seem familiar, but I can't quite place you," Yuffie admitted.

The woman laughed and pointed across the room. "Well, maybe you'll remember him." The guy in question was wearing black pants, a silver silk shirt, and a black hooded cape with red lining that came over his eyes almost to his upper lip. Completing his costume was a black belt with a fencing sword, big black leather gloves, and a medallion hanging from his neck.

Yuffie thought for a moment while she stared at him. Finally, she realized who he was as a few strands of silver hair slipped out from beneath his hood. "He's Riku!" she exclaimed. She turned to look at the woman beside her. "And you're...Zephyr, right?"

She nodded, smiling. "I just wanted to come over here and thank you for introducing us. If it weren't for you, I might have never had the courage to approach him."

Yuffie blushed, "It was nothing, really." They stood there and chatted for a few moments before Riku came and pulled Zephyr away, claiming he wanted to dance. Yuffie started back across to where Squall was still standing, unopened wine cooler in hand.

"Where have you been?" Squall asked as she approached him.

"I was chatting. It's what people normally do at parties," she told him, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "Geez, you're acting like an overprotective boyfriend." She hoped to get a rise out of him with that statement. She succeeded.

"I am NOT your boyfriend. I'm only here because you gave me no choice, remember?" He noticed the wine cooler in her hand. "What are you doing with that? You're underage. You're only eighteen, remember?"

"Really, Squall? I hadn't noticed. I thought I turned twenty-one last night, but apparently I was wrong." Rolling her eyes, she muttered, "You need to lighten up Squall. It's only a wine cooler. It probably won't even effect me."

"It's Leon. And you've never had one before?"

"No...good grief, you've gone from overprotective boyfriend to overprotective mother in less than five minutes. It's a new record," she quipped as she took a sip of her drink.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, she was stumbling around the room in quest of another drink when Squall took her arm. "I think you've had enough, Yuffie," he hissed in her ear.

"But, Squallie, I've only had two," she protested, her words slurred.

"Leon. And, I know, but apparently, you have no alcohol tolerance."

Yuffie looked at his hand on her arm and grinned. "Hey, Squall, you have really big hands," she said in a very loud and drunken voice. She glanced down at his feet. "An' really big feet." Her grin got wider.

He didn't like where this was going and he especially didn't like all the people now staring at his hands and feet. "It's Leon. And yeah?" he ventured.

"Well, ya know what they say about guys who have big hand an' big feet, don't ya? They're supposed to have really big-" 

He clamped a hand across her mouth before she could finish her sentence. "Yes, Yuffie, I know," he growled. Dragging her away from the drinks in the kitchen and back to the living room, he felt something tickle his hand. He pulled it away from her mouth only to find her licking it. "Yuffie, why were you licking my hand?" he asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"I dun know. I jus felt like it," she slurred as she grinned. "Hey, ya know what?"

Squall closed his eyes, fearing the worst. "What?"

"Your foot is the same length as your forearm," she said in what she thought was a whisper, but being in a drunken state, it was heard across the room. Squall looked at her in disbelief. "It is, and I can prove it." With that, she tried to lift her foot to her arm, only to fall. Luckily, Squall caught her before she hit the floor.

"I think we need to go, Yuffie," he muttered as he pulled her to the room where she had left her purse. She managed to find it with little difficulty. But maybe that was because her name was embroidered on the front flap.

"Okay, Squall, les go," she said as she stumbled out of the room. 

He stopped her. "Yuffie, give me the keys."

"No, I kin drive. I only had two drinks."

"Give me the keys," he demanded, holding out his hand.

"NO!"

Realizing he was getting nowhere fast, he grabbed her purse from her grasp and dug around in there until he found them. He handed it back to her, ignoring her indignant look, and took her by the arm and led and out the door.

"Hey, ya know what?" she asked as they were passing through the crowded living room.

Squall closed his eyes, fearing the answer. "What?"

"I'm a virgin." She leaned into him as she said this. "An' I dun wanna die a virgin." The crowd around them turned to look at her before bursting out in laughter. "I dun wanna wait for marriage either," she continued.

At that point, a man approached her. "Hey, baby. I can help with your problem."

"Really?" Yuffie asked. "Good, cause I wanna-"

Squall stopped her and pulled her away from the seedy-looking man and out the door. When they reached the car, he gently pushed her into the passenger seat, reaching across her to buckle her seat belt. Going around to the other side, he slid in and started the car. Yuffie leaned across the seat to look at his floorboard. "Yuffie, what are you doing?" 

"Yep, you got really big feet." 

"Yes, Yuffie. We've been over this. I have big feet and big hands and I don't want to talk about it any-" he broke off when he heard her gagging and felt something splash on his shoes. He stopped the car and held his head in his hands for a moment. "You just puked on my shoes, didn't you?" 

"Yes," she muttered as she wiped her mouth. "An' I feel much better now." With that, she leaned against the window and closed her eyes. Within seconds, Squall could hear her rhythmic breathing, signaling that she was asleep. He started the car back up and headed for his apartment since he didn't know where her dorm was and he was sure that, in her condition, she wouldn't know either.

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Parking her car as close to his apartment as possible, Squall got out and walked over to Yuffie's side. He opened the door carefully, catching her as she spilled out. He tried to shake her awake, but that proved a failure as she was out like a light. Sighing, he picked her up, placing one hand under her knees and using the other to support her back. She just lay there, limp as a rag, allowing him to easily carry her up the stairs. At his door, however, he encountered a problem: how to get his keys out of his pocket while holding her. Realizing that wasn't going to work, he leaned her against the wall and quickly unlocked the door, grabbing her as she began to fall.

She groaned and placed a hand to her head as he carried her back to the bedroom. "Where am I?" she asked quietly, squinting her eyes shut against the hall light.

Squall sat her on the foot of the bed and handed her a t-shirt he had pulled out of his closet. "You're at my apartment. Here, put this on." Still in a drunken daze, she obeyed, not even waiting for him to get out of the room as she began to undo the tux part of her costume. Shutting his eyes, Squall turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.

A few moments later, he returned and knocked on the door. "Yuffie? Are you decent?" Not getting an answer, he opened the door slowly and saw the lump laying under the covers on the bed. She was already asleep again, her costume thrown around the room. Sighing, Squall grabbed a blanket and went to the living room, where he stripped down to his boxers and tried to sleep on the couch.

After he had fallen off the sofa for what seemed like the hundredth time, Squall glanced at the clock. 3:58. And he still hadn't gotten any sleep. Giving in to the temptation, he silently crept back to his bedroom and slid under the covers with Yuffie, careful to stay on his side of the bed and avoid contact with her. Finally comfortable, he drifted off into a restful sleep.

Yuffie awoke the next morning with a raging headache and the feeling that she was not in her dorm room. She slowly opened her eyes, only to slam them shut again when the light from the sun hit them. Moaning, she tried again, this time squinting and holding a hand across her brow to help block the rays out. 

_Wait a minute, _she thought as her mind worked frantically to put the pieces together, _this isn't my bed...hell, this isn't even my room._ She rolled over and let out a small squeak when she saw Squall on the other side of the bed. _What happened last night?_

She painstakingly sat up, holding the sides of her head with her hands and looked down at what she was wearing: a t-shirt...Squall's t-shirt to be exact. Bits and pieces of the night began to come back. _I remember going to the party. And I remember I went with Squall. And I vaguely remember him handing my a t-shirt, but why?_ She carefully lifted the blankets and gulped when she saw that the man next to her only had a pair of boxers on. _Uh-oh!_

Reaching over with one hand, she gently shook him awake. "Squall? Squall? Wake up!" He groaned and slapped her hand away. "SQUALL!" she yelled, the immediately clutched her head from the migraine she received.

Squall's eyes fluttered open and he squinted at her. "What?" he muttered, still half-asleep.

"Where are my clothes?" she whispered, not wanting to make the headache worse.

He waved his hand. "They kind of got thrown around the room." With that, he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

Yuffie slowly got out of the bed, holding her head to make the room quit tilting, and looked around. He was right; her costume was flung around the room, increasing her fears of what had happened in her drunken stupor. Gathering the various pieces of the costume, she stumbled to the bathroom and began to dress, deciding to wear the t-shirt over the top. She then went to the kitchen where she found her keys lying on the counter, which she grabbed as she headed out the door and to her car.

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Yuffie finally made it back to her dorm room at around 10:30, finding Kairi and Sora eating breakfast. Kairi glanced at her roommate, noticing how bedraggled she looked. "Hey, are you okay, Yuf?" she asked.

Yuffie nodded, "Yeah, I think so." Sighing, she went to her dresser and pulled out some pajamas to put on. A moment later, she came out of the bathroom and sat on her bed, placing her head in her hands. 

Realizing that Yuffie needed to talk, Kairi ushered Sora out the door, promising to call him later. She went back and set down next to Yuffie on the bed. "Okay, what happened to you?"

Grinning grimly, Yuffie lifted her head out of her hands. "That's the problem. I don't know."

Kairi's eyes went wide. "What do you mean you don't know? Where were you?"

Yuffie shut her eyes. "I woke up in Squall's bed this morning...with Squall."

"You what?! You two didn't...you know, did you?"

"That's the problem. I don't remember." She sighed. "I remember going to the party with Squall...and I vaguely remember him handing me a t-shirt...but that's all." Tears started to well up in her eyes. "And then, this morning, I wake up in his bed....in a t-shirt. And he's in his boxers. My costume was flung all around the room." She paused. "And he was really tired."

The red-head gulped. "You don't think he took advantage of you, do you?"

Before Yuffie could answer, the phone rang. Yuffie clutched her aching head as Kairi answered it. A second later, it was shoved into her hands. "Hello?" Yuffie managed to say through the headache.

"Yuffie? It's Leon. I was calling to see if you were okay." It sounded as though he was actually concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Um...Squall..."

"Leon," he interrupted.

"Whatever...can you tell me what happened last night?" She tried not to sound desperate.

"You don't remember anything?" Surprise filled his voice.

"Um...no," she finally stated.

She heard a sigh on the other end of the line. "Well, after about an hour at the party, you were pretty drunk and you were starting to get kinda rowdy. So, I took you back to my place."

"Why didn't you bring me back to my dorm?" she asked tentatively.

"Because, after you puked on my shoes, you were out cold."

"I puked on your shoes?" she whispered in disbelief.

"Yeah, but don't worry about it." He paused for a second before continuing. "At my apartment, I gave you a shirt to sleep in since I couldn't take you to your dorm in that condition."

"But why were we in the same bed?" 

Squall chuckled. "Don't worry. Nothing happened. I was going to sleep on the couch, but I kept falling off, so I slept on the other side. So, you're still a virgin."

"What?! How the hell do you know that?" she shouted into the handset.

"Simple. You told me last night." Before she could say anything else, he finished with, "Look, I gotta go. Have fun with your first hangover." Yuffie heard a click on the line as he hung up.

Sighing in relief, she stood up and went to take a shower, wondering why Squall was actually concerned enough to call and check-up on her.

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Author's Note: Whew! I finally finished writing it. It is now 2:30 A.M. But, I promised VL that I would have this up by Thursday morning, so you owe me big time VL. At least, tomorrow is my off day though, so I can sleep late. Anyways, this is my longest chapter yet at around 5000 words, but I couldn't really find a place to stop it at. And, I would like to say once again that I do not, in any way, condone underage drinking. Hell, I'm 21 and I don't even drink. I'm kinda like Yuffie...I have no alcohol tolerance. But, anyways, Read and Review. (I have 49 reviews right now. If I get to 100, I'm gonna have a party. ^_^) Now, I'm going to post this and go to bed before I collapse. So, Goodnight. Or, really, it's Goodmorning now. Oh well.


	8. Chapter Eight: Birthday Girl

Author's Note: This is pathetic. It is now 4:30 AM, and I'm up writing this because I couldn't sleep. Which means, that I won't be able to drive to class today unless I feel like taking out a few other people on the road when I fall asleep behind the wheel. Anyways, enough of my griping. 

Disclaimer: Do you really still need this? Okay, I do not own any of the characters in this story except any that are made by me, which are usually pathetically one-dimensional, such as Mr. Siewort, the bio lab TA. 

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_Chapter Eight: Birthday Girl_

Yuffie walked into the biology lab Tuesday morning, finding Squall already there. She began to blush uncontrollably. It was the first time she had seen him since she had awakened in his bed the morning after the Halloween party as she had not gone to her biology lecture the day before. She slowly walked across the lab and sat on the stool next to him, refusing to look at his face.

"How are you feeling, Yuffie?" he asked quietly, knowing she must have had a killer hangover the day after the party.

She furrowed her brows before answering. "Well, physically, I'm fine. The hangover left eventually. Mentally, now, that's another question." He looked at her, urging her to continue. "I feel like a complete idiot right now, if you must know."

"Why?" Squall prodded.

Yuffie laughed softly. "Well, let's see. I don't remember what happened at that party, but according to you, I was pretty wasted. I puked on your shoes, then thought that we...you know..., and now, you're sitting here asking me how I feel. How would you feel, Squall, if it were you?"

He smiled. "Embarrassed. And it's Leon."

"And, I would like to say thank you for getting me somewhere safe instead of leaving me there at that party." She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "From what you've told me, it sounds like any guy could've taken me and I wouldn't have even cared." 

Squall placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him. "Hey, don't worry about it. Just buy me a new pair of shoes, and we'll call it even," he joked.

Yuffie grimaced, "About the shoes, I'm really really sorry. I don't have much spare cash, but-"

"Don't worry about it. It's not like I'm still in the marines and need them."

She gave him a sheepish smile before flipping through the lab manual in front of her, going over the lesson for the day. A few minutes later, Mr. Siewort, the TA, walked in, announcing he had the assignments for their lab final. Each pair was to develop an experiment to conduct on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving break, December 2, giving them four weeks to work on it. 

Sighing, Yuffie turned to Squall to ask, "Any ideas?"

"No, I was hoping you would have one," he admitted.

"Well, at least we have a month to work on it." They stopped chatting as Mr. Siewort began the lesson for the day, although Yuffie was having a hard time concentrating. She kept going back to the kindness Squall had shown her by saving her from herself Saturday night. 

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_Looking around the darkened room, Yuffie began to panic. "Hello? Is anyone there?" She walked around, arms held stiffly out in front of her, hoping to find a wall and a light switch. _

_ But, it wasn't a wall she bumped into. Her small hands felt the hard corded muscles beneath the light cotton t-shirt. Moving her hands_ _around the body, she soon felt the leather jacket._

_ "Squall? Is that you?" she asked nervously._

_ "Who else?" She swore she could hear a smile in his voice._

_ Her eyes squinted, trying to adjust to the darkness around them. "Where are we?"_

_ "Does it really matter?" he questioned. Yuffie felt a strong arm encircle her waist, pulling her closer._

_ "Squall? What are you doing?" She tried to keep the quivering out of voice, but failed miserably._

_ A light baritone chuckle floated to her ears. "Do you want me to tell you? Or to show you?"_

_ Even in the dark, Yuffie knew her cheeks were a bright crimson. Before she could answer, her whole body came into contact with his, melding together. He stroked her back gently, as one would a kitten_ _before placing a kiss on the top of her head._

_ Feeling the press of his lips on her hair, she tried to see him with her upturned face. But no sooner had she done that, than his lips came crashing down on hers. Surprised at first, she simply stood there dumbfounded. But hormones soon took over, and she found her mouth responding to his. As his embrace tightened and the kiss deepened, Yuffie's hand somehow made it up to his neck, pulling his mouth even closer if that was possible. Her other hand continued the journey upward into his tangled mane of russet hair._

_ She felt herself being slowly lowered to the ground, the kiss never breaking until she was laying flat on the floor when his lips began to travel down to her neck, sucking and biting gently. Gasping at the touch of his warm lips on her collarbone, she ran her hands down his back. His mouth soon came back to hers and–_

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!"

Yuffie groaned as she swung her arm around turned the alarm clock off. It just had to go off right then. She felt like taking the thing and throwing it across the room. Closing her eyes, she tried to slip back into the dream, wanting to finish. She had nearly succeeded when her roommate pulled her back to the waking world.

"Yuffie? You're gonna be late," Kairi called from her bed, still hiding under the blankets.

Yuffie opened her eyes to give her roommate a chilling glare. "Damn it, Kairi! I had just fallen back asleep and he was-" she broke off when she realized she was giving away too much information.

The red-head looked at her, "Oh, really? And, who might this 'he' be?" Yuffie didn't answer, confirming Kairi's suspicions. "Could it possibly be Squall?"

"Yes," came the muted reply from the other bed. Sitting up quickly, Yuffie shook her finger at Kairi. "And if dare tell anyone, even Sora, I'll...I'll...well, I don't know what I'll do yet, but you won't like it."

"Wow, Yuffie. Getting so worked up about a dream. I guess that means it can only be one type of dream then, couldn't it?" The red-head laughed at the look her roommate gave her. "But don't worry, I won't tell anyone you're having sex dreams about Squall...unless I run into Squall, that is."

A low growl escaped Yuffie's throat. "DON'T YOU DARE!" With that, she fell back onto the bed and thought about her dream while Kairi began to dress before Sora came to get her for class. Sighing, she herself decided that she had better get up for her biology lab, she really couldn't afford to miss the class.

Reaching the class just in time, she rushed to her stool next to Squall, flushing as she remembered her dream. Forcing the blush back down, she turned to him. "Squall, we do need to work on our experiment. We don't even know what we're doing yet and it's already November 18. We just have two more weeks."

"I know, and it's Leon," he said, sighing. He didn't know why they had procrastinated. Normally, he was the type of person who did the job as soon as it was assigned. But since the Halloween party, he had been avoiding Yuffie, only seeing her during the biology lab. "How about we get together tonight to work on it?"

She thought for a moment before answering; she didn't want to appear eager to be alone with him. "Yeah, that would work. Your apartment?"

He nodded, "Yes, unless you can think of someplace better."

"No, your apartment is fine...there won't be any distractions there."

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Yuffie arrived at Squall's apartment actually on time for once, surprising even herself. He opened the door, shock showing on his face that she wasn't late. "No, Squall. I'm not late," she told him as he opened the door, allowing her entrance into his apartment.

"Leon." He shut the door behind her and sat on the couch. She soon followed suit, setting much closer to him than she had on previous occasions. "So, any ideas?" he asked as she pulled out the biology lab manual.

"No, I was hoping you would have some." Smiling, she pulled out her notebook, ready to write down any ideas they could come up with as they brain-stormed.

After an hour, and still no good ideas for their experiment, Squall asked, "Have you had dinner yet?"

"No, I didn't have time. I was in such a rush to get here _on time, _that I completely forgot about it," she admitted.

Squall picked up the phone, "Pizza okay?" he inquired as he flipped through the yellow pages of phonebook. "Or would you prefer something else?"

"Pizza's fine, just no onions or anchovies on it. Please, I hate the smell of onions," she begged.

"Good. I don't like onions or anchovies either." He dialed the number and placed the order, giving them his address for the delivery. They went back to brain-storming while waiting for the pizza.

"I've got it!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"What?"

"For our experiment. We can get two goldfish and put them in colored water. One can be in warmer water and the other in colder water," she began.

"And? How's that going to be our experiment?" Squall interrupted.

Yuffie rolled her eyes, "You didn't let me finish. We can dye the water blue, you know, so they'll breath the color in and it will go through their veins. And, then, we can measure the different speeds in which the color reaches their fins."

Squall thought about it for a moment. "Okay, where did you come up with that?"

She grinned. "I did that experiment in high school Anatomy and Physiology. It's really a fairly easy experiment. And it doesn't even hurt the fish, so we don't have to worry about that."

Right then, the doorbell rang, signaling that the pizza had arrived. Squall paid the delivery boy and brought their dinner to the coffee table, stopping in the kitchen for napkins and plates. As they ate, they worked out the minor details in the experiment before Yuffie had to leave. Squall walked her to the door, and decided, that since it was dark, he really should walk her to her car as well.

Yuffie was in a state of shock when she realized that he was actually escorting to the car. As she unlocked the Neon's door, she turned to him and smiled. "Thank you, Squall."

"Leon," he muttered as he closed the car door for her. 

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Two days later, Yuffie awoke from the same dream. This time, however, it was not interrupted. With a small smile playing across her face, she arose from bed and took a shower. It was while she was in the shower that it hit her: today was November 20...her nineteenth birthday. She hurriedly dried herself and pulled on a pair of low hip-hugger flared blue jeans and a tight fitting blouse which only just reached the top of her jeans. 

She happily fixed her hair before leaving the dorm to check her mailbox at the student center, expecting to find a birthday card from her friends and family. Swirling the combination lock, she was disappointed when she found the box completely empty.

"Well, the mail might not have run yet," she murmured under her breath as she trekked across campus for breakfast at the cafeteria. Once there, she ran into Sora and Kairi, already sitting at a table and eating their breakfast. Yuffie walked over to them and sat down, hoping that Kairi had remembered her birthday.

Kairi smiled at her, "Yuffie? I didn't expect you to get up this early. I mean, today is your," _here it comes, _Yuffie thought, "off day," Kairi finished, much to her roommates disappointment.

Yuffie smiled and plastered a fake grin on her face. "Yeah, I know, but I couldn't sleep."

"So, Yuffie, when are you leaving for Thanksgiving break?" Sora asked.

"Tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to skip my classes on Monday. And, since, the bio lab has already been canceled Tuesday, I don't have anything then," she explained.

Kairi wagged her finger playfully at Yuffie. "Skipping class? Really, Yuffie, I thought you were better than that."

"I seem to remember a few days when you yourself threw the alarm clock across the room and stayed in bed, Kairi," Yuffie retorted, laughing softly.

Sora grinned at the red-head. "Busted." He got up from the table, taking his and Kairi's trays to the trash. Coming back, he told Yuffie, "We've got to go to class. We don't have the luxury of an off day." With that, he and Kairi walked out of the cafeteria, leaving Yuffie alone at the table.

Sighing, and a little hurt that Kairi had forgotten her birthday, Yuffie ate her breakfast in silence. Finishing, she dumped the rest in the trash and went back to the student center to see if the mail had run yet. But, no, there was nothing in her mailbox. _Well, duh, Yuffie...they're going to call you, that's why. _At that thought, she rushed back across campus to her dorm, expecting birthday messages on the answering machine, but no such luck.

Yuffie spent the rest of the day sitting in her room, willing the phone to ring. After watching countless hours of T.V., she looked at the clock. 8:47 P.M. Still no phone calls. And, to make matters worse, Kairi hadn't returned either, leaving Yuffie completely alone all day in the room. 

Disgusted with the whole world, she decided she would go to Aerith's apartment. At least there she could have sympathetic ear to talk to. But, after arriving there, she noticed Cloud's pickup in the parking lot. _Figures, _Yuffie thought. Leaving the apartment complex, she went to the only other place she could think of: Squall's.

Squall opened the door to find a very upset looking Yuffie standing there. "Yuffie? What are you doing here?" he asked.

She pushed past him, not waiting for him to move. "I thought we could work on our project. Is that okay?"

"Yeah...but that's not the real reason you're here."

Yuffie rolled her eyes, "Why else would I be here?"

He smiled. "I don't know, but considering you didn't bring any books, I don't think you came here to work on the experiment."

Rubbing her forehead, Yuffie let it all out in a rush. "Okay, you caught me. Today's my birthday and nobody remembered. Believe me, your apartment was a last resort. But Cloud was over at Aerith's and my dorm was too quiet, okay?"

He winced when she said that his place was the last resort. "Alright, calm down. Who wants to celebrate the day you were born, anyway?" He tried to make it come out as joke, but failed.

Yuffie shut her eyes, pushing the tears back, and took a deep breath. "Fine. I'll just leave." She started for the door, but was pulled back.

"No, I'm sorry, Yuffie...I was just joking." Squall hoped his apology worked. She turned around, the pained look in her eyes affecting him. "Don't go."

"Okay," she whispered, wiping away the few stubborn tears that had fallen. She walked to the couch and sat down. Squall was still standing where she had left him, looking down at her. "So, are we going to work on the project or not?" she asked.

Lost in his thoughts, her voice pulled him back. "Oh, yeah, the experiment." He ran a hand through his russet locks. "Let me go get my notes and stuff." Coming back a moment later, he dropped his books on the coffee table and sat down next to her.

She leaned forward to grab his notebook and a pen, but doing so caused her blouse to rise in the back, revealing a small butterfly tattoo with sunburst wings. Yuffie caught Squall staring at it. "You think I'm trashy, don't you?" she whispered, remembering what she wore to the Halloween party and how she had behaved.

"No, I have one, too." With that, he turned away from her and pulled his shirt up in the back, exposing a large lion head spanning across his back.

Yuffie reached a hand out and gingerly touched it. "It's beautiful," she murmured as he pulled the shirt back down and turned to face her. "My parents don't know about mine," she admitted.

"Why not? You're eighteen."

"Nineteen, today's my birthday remember."

Squall smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I forgot. But, anyway, why don't you tell them?"

"You don't understand." She took a deep breath. "I grew up in a very strict household. They expected me to marry a businessman right out of high school and start making babies. They didn't even want me to go to college." She closed her eyes at the memory of the fight with her mother over that before continuing. "So, when I got here, I kind of went crazy. I chopped off all my hair...it was waist-length. I got the tattoo. And, that's why I drank at the party." Unable to meet his gaze, she dropped her head.

Squall didn't say anything for a moment, still taking in all that she had said. Finally, he lifted her face and whispered, "Well, I'm glad you're here, even if they aren't" He lowered his head to kiss her, while she just sat there in shock for a moment before her lips began to respond to his. The kiss deepened before he broke it off. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I shouldn't have done that."

"Why?" Yuffie demanded, angry tears filling her eyes. _He doesn't want me, _her mind screamed, causing the tears to spill their dams and fall down her cheeks.

Squall brushed away her tears with his thumb. "Don't cry, please. I hate tears."

"Well, quit playing games with me, then. Do you have any idea what it's like to be unwanted," she began. "First, my parents didn't want me. And now... and now, you don't want me."

"But, Yuffie, I do want you," he whispered.

"Then, show me."

With that, he picked her up off the couch, one arm supporting her back and the other under her knees, and carried her bridal style down the hall and into his bedroom. He laid her gently on the bed as though she were a china doll that might break into a thousand pieces. Leaning over, he kissed her again this time with more passion than he had previously shown. His lips soon left hers and traveled down to her neck while her hands tangled themselves in his hair. 

"Squall, I've never done this before," she said softly as he continued his assault on her throat.

"I know, you told me at the party," he whispered against her neck.

She shook her head, pushing him away momentarily. "No, I mean, none of this." He looked at her in confusion. "I already told you my parents were strict. But I didn't tell you all of it." Closing her eyes in embarrassment, she went on. "They didn't allow me to date until I was seventeen. And, even then, it was only with successful businessmen they approved of."

Squall's piercing blue eyes gazed deep into hers. "Yuffie, if you don't want this, tell me now," he said quietly, the anger she expected not showing in his eyes.

"I want this," she murmured, pulling his mouth back to hers, realizing that she was giving herself completely to him.

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Author's Note: Okay, there ya go. That's as close to a lemon as I'm going to get since I do know that a lot of my readers are younger. And I don't want to corrupt any young minds. So, I'll leave it to your imaginations about what happens next. Anyways, Read and Review. The next installment should be up by Sunday night, I think.


	9. Chapter Nine: Betrayal

Author's Note: Hello, everyone. Fanfiction.net isn't letting me get my reviews right now, so I hope everyone still likes the story. It says I have 66 reviews, but it's only showing me 63. *growls* Anyways, Read and Review.

Disclaimer: The only characters I own are the ones I create. That does not include any Final Fantasy or Kingdom Heartscharacters. 

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_Chapter Nine: Betrayal_

Squall slowly awakened, savoring the feel of Rinoa's warm body pressed against his side, her arm draped across his bare chest. But his mind screamed that something was wrong. His eyes fluttered open to look at the woman beside him. He jerked awake quite suddenly when he realized it was Yuffie and not Rinoa there beside him. _What have I done?_ he asked himself as the memory of the night of passion came flying back to his mind.

He carefully slipped out of the bed, laying Yuffie's arm down gently, hoping to not awaken her. Leaning over the edge of the bed, he found his boxers, which he pulled on before heading to the bathroom. He quietly shut the door and stared at himself with self-hatred in the mirror.

"What have I done?" he murmured. A sense of betrayal came over him. By making love with Yuffie, he felt as though he had betrayed Rinoa's memory. He splashed his face with water, hoping that maybe this was all a dream; but, no, the cold water only made him face the reality of his actions. Sighing, he went back into the bedroom to gather his clothes.

Yuffie was sitting up on the bed when he came back, blankets pulled up to cover herself. She smiled softly at Squall. "Hey, good morning," she whispered.

He looked at her blankly before replying. "Yeah. Right back at ya." Bending over to pick up the clothes that had been strewn around the room, he forced all emotions he felt toward Yuffie away and concentrated on Rinoa. He stood up again, looking directly at the young woman on his bed. "Look...I've got some things to do today, so you might want to get dressed." With that, he left the room before he could see the hurt come into her eyes.

As soon as the door closed, Yuffie let the tears that had welled up in her eyes fall. Pulling the blanket off the bed, she wrapped it around herself as she picked up her clothes to dress in the bathroom. Once dressed, she wiped away the tears, determined not to let Squall see her cry. She ran her fingers through her short black hair, trying to comb it out, before she finally decided she had to leave his apartment. Now.

In the kitchen, she found Squall sitting at the dining room table, nursing a cup of coffee and refusing to meet her gaze. She grabbed her purse from the counter, where she had left it the night before and headed for the door. 

"Yuffie, wait. We need to talk," Squall called from the dining room.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to calm herself, she turned around and faced him. "About what? Like, maybe how you used me last night?" she hissed, eyes narrowing.

Squall shook his head. "You don't understand, Yuffie. I didn't use you." He looked back down at the mug of coffee in his hands. "I think last night was a mistake."

"A mistake!? A mistake!?" she screamed. "I gave myself to you, and I thought it was something beautiful...and you can sit there and call it a mistake?!"

"Look. I just think we got caught up in the moment. We never should've done that." Glancing at her, he tried to ignore the tears that were streaming freely down her face.

Yuffie stood up straighter, and took another deep breath. "You're right, Squall. It was a mistake...a mistake to think that someone like you could ever love someone besides yourself."

As she spun on her heel to leave, she heard him growl, "My name is Leon," behind her.

Completely losing control of herself, she grabbed the first thing she could find, a picture hanging on the wall, and threw it at him with all the force she could muster. The picture hit him between the eyes, the glass shattering on contact and leaving a bloody gash on his face. 

"Damn it, Yuffie!" he yelled as he pressed a hand over the bleeding wound. He heard the door slam, but by then he wasn't really paying attention to it. Looking down at Rinoa's picture, he saw the blood drip from the slash between his eyes and fall where her heart would be.

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Kairi looked up as she heard the door to her dorm opening. Walking through was Yuffie, her eyes red and puffy, her clothes wrinkled, and her hair a mess. Overall, she gave off a bedraggled appearance. "Yuffie, are you okay?" she asked quietly.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just...I just ran over a dog, that's all," she lied, not wanting to tell her roommate how stupid she was. "I didn't have time to stop the car."

"Where were you last night? I was worried about you."

Yuffie looked at her blankly. "Hmm? Oh, I was at Aerith's." She pulled out her suitcase from the closet and began throwing her clothes into it, not concerned with the wrinkles sure to appear. Finishing with her clothes, she tossed her toothbrush on top of her clothes. Kairi watched all this in silence, knowing that there was something Yuffie wasn't telling her.

"Yuffie, aren't you even going to fold your clothes?" 

Her roommate shook her head, "No, it doesn't matter. I'll iron them when I get home tonight."

"So, you're leaving today then?" 

"Yeah, I haven't been home since I got here, so I'm taking Monday off and spending a week at home." She zipped up the suitcase and started out the door.

"Yuffie, wait!" Kairi ran over to her and hugged her, surprising Yuffie. "Have a safe trip! And," she paused, "if you need to talk about anything, give me a call."

Yuffie gave her a weak smile, "Sure. I'll keep that in mind, Kairi." With that, she slipped out the door, pulling her suitcase behind her.

The red-head watched the door shut behind Yuffie. "She's lying about something...or not telling the whole truth about something," she murmured, tempted to chase after her and wheedle it out of her. But, shaking her head, she assumed Yuffie would tell her when she was ready.

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For the next eight hours, Yuffie cried and berated herself as she drove her small car home. Taking deep breaths, she composed herself when she reached the city limits, not wanting her mother prodding her with questions. Finally turning onto the street where she had grown up, she passed all the typical suburban houses before pulling into her driveway at the end of the cul-de-sac. As she climbed out of the car, her mother came running out to her.

"Yuffie, we didn't expect you for another hour. What are you doing home so early?" she demanded. Then she let out a shriek. "What did you do to your hair?! And your ears?! And _what_ are you wearing?!"

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "You know, mom, most mothers would hug their kids after they've been away for three months." She pointed to her ears, "By the way, these are called earrings. Most people have them."

"Yes, Yuffie, I know. But three pairs? Honestly, I don't know what's come over you." Mrs. Kisaragi shook her finger in Yuffie's face. "And don't use that tone of voice with me." She sighed. "I don't know why I allowed you to go to college. You used to be such a sweet girl, and now look at you."

Ignoring her mother, Yuffie walked to the trunk of her car to get her suitcase. When she bent over to reach in, her shirt rode up in the back. "YUFFIE! WHAT IS THAT?!" her mother screamed, pointing at the butterfly tattoo.

"Come on, mom. It's just a tattoo. It's not like I went out and slept with someone," she muttered, knowing she was lying through her teeth.

"Now you'll never marry someone nice," Mrs. Kisaragi huffed.

Yuffie slapped her forehead in disgust. "We've been over this before, mom. There's more to life than getting married and having babies." She dragged her suitcase past her mother and walked into the house.

Her father was sitting in the recliner, watching T.V., barely glancing at her as she walked past. "Hello, Yuffie. It's about time you came home," he said as she ascended the stairs to her room.

She ignored him and continued to her room, her mother following close behind. "Yuffie, I have a surprise for you tomorrow."

"What?" Yuffie winced, not really wanting to know.

Mrs. Kisaragi smiled. "You remember Richard, don't you? From down the street?" Her daughter nodded slightly. "Well, his mother says he's coming in tomorrow. He just graduated from business school in May and is really making a name for himself."

"Mother! I just got home and all you can think about is setting me up on a date?" _This is going to be a long week, _she silently mused. "Look, we'll talk about this tomorrow, okay? I'm really tired and all I want is to get some sleep." She ushered her mother out the door, closing it before she could say anything.

Once she was alone in the room, Yuffie pulled her pajamas out of her suitcase and changed. Pulling back the covers on the bed, she lay down and curled into a fetal position. But sleep never came, only tears as she thought back to what Squall had done to her. _He lied to me, he told me he wanted me, but it was all a lie._ She lay there in agony all night, finally falling asleep well after the dawn only to awaken an hour later at her mother's insistent knocking.

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"Yuffie, I need you to help me in the kitchen," her mother called on Thanksgiving day as she was preparing the big dinner.

Yuffie sighed. "Coming, mother." It had been like this all week, starting after her date with Richard. After telling him that she was only out with him because her mother forced her, he quickly brought her home, much to Mrs. Kisaragi's disappointment. Since then, Yuffie had been coerced into wearing dresses, of the _Leave It to Beaver _style, and cooking dinner each night, in hopes that she would become what her father called "domesticated."

Her mother glanced at her when she walked into the kitchen. "Yuffie, I don't think you should go back to school after Christmas. You don't look good. I think what you need to do is stay here until you get married."

"Mother...we've been through this a hundred times. I'm going to school, whether you like it or not." She moved to the oven to pull the bread out. "And, I may never get married."

"Yuffie! You don't mean that! Of course you'll get married. And have babies!" her mother exclaimed, shock coming into her eyes.

Yuffie turned to glare at her mother. "And if I don't? What then?"

"I don't want to hear this talk anymore. Fine, go back to school. But, you'll regret it one day." 

Rolling her eyes, Yuffie replied, "There's more to life than marriage and babies. I want to live. I don't want to be like you and spend my whole life in the kitchen." _And I don't want to be hurt again_, she finished silently, thinking about Squall.

At the dinner table, Yuffie picked at her food, not really eating anything as her thoughts dwelled on Squall. Pushing her plate away, she stood up to head upstairs. But she was stopped by her father.

"Yuffie, you've hardly eaten anything since you've been home. Is everything okay?" he asked.

She plastered on a fake smile. "Of course. Everything's fine."

"Are you upset because you have to go back to school soon?" He continued before she had a chance to answer. "You don't have to go back, you know. You can just stay here." He paused. "In fact, I would much prefer it if you did stay."

"No, I'm not staying here. I'm going back to school."

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Once she was back at school, Yuffie knew she had to face Squall one last time. She reluctantly went to her biology lab, arriving just in time. Luckily, Squall had remembered to bring the equipment for their experiment. She sat down next to him, not speaking to him and not wanting to look at him. But she was forced to when he glanced at her when she walked in, and she noticed the stitches between his eyes, where the glass from the picture had slashed him. In silence, they conducted the experiment, only speaking when absolutely necessary. As soon as the class was over, Yuffie rushed back to her dorm.

The last two weeks of the semester passed in a blur for Yuffie. She dazedly took her finals, not really caring if she passed or not. Her nights were spent sleepless, tossing and turning and thinking about Squall as much as she tried not to. Her days consisted of avoiding Kairi's worried glances.

"Yuffie, are you okay?" Kairi had asked one day when Yuffie had appeared particularly listless. "You haven't eaten hardly anything. And you don't look good, either."

Through baggy eyes, Yuffie stared at her before answering. "Yeah...it's just been all the finals and stuff. I just need a break, that's all." That was the only answer Kairi was able to drag out of her roommate.

Christmas break came upon them and Yuffie knew she had to return home, as much as she hated it. She knew that it would be the same thing everyday: her mother making her cook, setting her up on dates, and urging her to drop out of school. And everyday, Yuffie would be thinking about Squall and about how stupid she had been.

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Author's Note: Okay, I really like the beginning of this chapter, but I don't like the rest of it. But, it will be important in the future. So, anyways, read and review.


	10. Chapter Ten: Sleep

Author's Note: Okay...I'm going on an author's rampage...but not at my precious reviewers. I'm so furious with Fanfiction.net right now, that I could scream. I know I have 76 reviews. However, I've not been able to read the last 13. 

Therefore, I have no idea if you guys even like the story anymore since I haven't been able to see a review from the last two chapters. So, right now, I'm going through review withdrawal. I've become addicted to reviews and I think I need to go through some 12 step program to get over this addiction. ^_^ 

Anyways, if it's not _too_ much trouble, could you please send a _copy_ of your review to me at deplora703@cs.com *puppy dog eyes* Note: That is a copy of your review as I still want the review to be able to be viewed on Fanfiction.net eventually, if they ever get it working. You don't have to if you don't want to, and if you read this after the review system has begun to work again, don't worry about it. I'm just going crazy right now from not being able to see those last 13 reviews. For all I know, I've been flamed, roasted, and served for Sunday dinner.

I know this author's note doesn't make much sense really, but bear with me, it's midnight...and I'm really mad at Fanfiction.net and their PMS problems. Yes, that's right, I said PMS. Since this has been going on for four days now, that's what I'm going to call it. Hopefully, it will pass within the next day or so. 

Okay....I'll shut up now and write. That's what you really want anyways, right?

And I have a warning: This is a very angsty chapter...no like, no read, kay?

[Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. If I did, Squall would be locked in my room and be my....well, let's not go there.]

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_Chapter Ten: Sleep_

"Miss Kisaragi, the doctor will see you now," the young nurse called from the hallway. Yuffie arose from her chair slowly and followed her down the hall into the cold exam room, sitting on the exam table to await Dr. Murray.

While she sat there, Yuffie thought about how hellish the last month had been. She had managed somehow to make it through her finals and still pass the classes even though she had been unable to concentrate, her mind always drifting to Squall and how he had used her. Today was especially rough on her, for it was December 20, exactly one month since the "incident" as she had begun to call it.

Closing her eyes, she decided she might as well try and catch up on some of her sleep while she waited for the doctor. But, as soon as they closed, Squall was there in her mind, telling her it was a mistake. She had been this way for a month now, the memory of giving herself to Squall, only to have him throw it back in her face, haunting her. Having been averaging around two hours of sleep a night, which was also haunted by Squall, she had grown haggard looking. Finally, at her mother's urging, she made an appointment to see the family doctor.

The door creaked open just as Yuffie was about to fall asleep and Dr. Murray stepped in, carrying and reading the clipboard with her chart. "Miss Kisaragi, what seems to be the problem?"

She almost said 'everything,' but stopped herself in time. "I haven't been able to sleep for the past month," she yawned as she told him this, watching him through blurry eyes as he made a note on her chart. 

"Has anything stressful happened since then?" he asked, a concerned look on his face.

Yuffie sighed, silently debating on how much she should tell him. "No, there were my finals, but I didn't stress over them." 

He continued to ask questions, making occasional notes as he took her blood pressure and tested her reflexes. Finally satisfied with his examination, he handed her a slip of paper. "Here, I'm prescribing some sleeping pills, _Ambien. _They shouldn't cause you any problems, but, if you do have any averse side effects, don't hesitate to come in." He looked at her concernedly for a moment. "And, Miss Kisaragi, you might want to start eating a little more. You're looking underweight."

She nodded, yawning once again as she got off the table and walked to the receptionist's window to pay her bill. Going out to the parking lot, Yuffie climbed into her car and sat for a moment, not wanting to go home. She knew what awaited her there. Although she had only been home for a week, her mother had already set her up with five blind dates. But, much to her mother's disappointment, Yuffie had also refused to go on these dates, knowing they were business men her parents approved of. In fact, Yuffie had spent most of this week lying on her bed, trying unsuccessfully to not think of Squall, with the occasional interruption from her parents, urging her to come downstairs to meet some 'nice man.' 

Realizing that if she didn't get home soon, her parents would come looking for her, Yuffie started her car and headed for the pharmacy to fill her prescription. Words could not describe how happy she was knowing that at last she would be able to sleep and forget about Squall, if only for a few hours.

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"Okay, Yuffie, it's a new year and a new semester. You can do this," she muttered to herself as she climbed the three flights of stairs to her dorm room, dragging her large suitcase behind her. _Yes, I can do this...as long as I don't see Squall_, she added upon reaching her door. Just as she was pulling her key out to unlock it, the door swung open revealing Kairi.

The red-head stared in shock for a moment, not believing the sight before her. The vibrancy that was once present in her roommate's eyes had left, leaving a dull, hollow look. She had lost a considerable amount of weight as well, which she couldn't afford to lose since she had been small to begin with. Her blue jeans hung low on her waist, nearly falling off. "Yuffie? What happened to you?"

"Nothing. Now, if you don't mind, could you please move so I can come in?" Pushing past her, Yuffie lugged the heavy suitcase in, ignoring the worried looks from Kairi. She immediately began to unpack, and Kairi noticed she took a bottle of pills out and set them beside the sink.

"Yuffie, did something happened at home?" Kairi prodded gently, trying to make sense out of the situation. Here was her once perky roommate, who was now listless and haggard looking. It simply made no sense to her.

Sighing, Yuffie glanced up from her dresser where she had been putting away clothes. "No...just the usual. My mother setting me up on blind dates and trying to convince me to not go back to school." She didn't mention the real reason she was like this, not wanting Kairi to know about Squall. Pulling out a pair of flannel pajamas before slamming the drawer shut, Yuffie walked to the bathroom to change. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm getting ready for bed." With that, she quietly shut the bathroom door in Kairi's face.

The red-head looked at the clock across the room in confusion, it was only 5:43. Why would Yuffie be going to bed this early? When Yuffie came out of the bathroom, Kairi asked, "Yuffie, you're going to bed _now?_ It's not even 6 o' clock yet."

Nodding, Yuffie replied, "I know, but I'm really tired. I had an eight hour drive, ya know." As she said this, she opened the pill bottle and poured out two in the palm of her hand. Tossing them into her mouth, she chased them with a glass of water before brushing her teeth.

"Yuf, what are the pills for?" her roommate wondered, becoming increasingly worried for Yuffie's well-being.

"Hmm? Oh, those. They're for my insomnia. The doctor prescribed them for me about a month ago." Leaving the bathroom area, Yuffie stepped slowly over to her bed, pulling back the covers before sliding beneath them. She noticed that Kairi was about to turn the lights off and she stopped her. "Don't worry about the lights, Kai. These pills will have me knocked out. Lights and noise won't bother me." As soon as she closed her eyes, visions of Squall appeared before her, paining her as always. However, since she had begun to take _Ambien_, she would soon drift into a dreamless sleep, where she could escape from the constant reminder of Squall and the "incident."

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Monday morning Yuffie's alarm clock went off, jarring her awake. But she simply turned it off and went back to sleep, not caring if she was missing her first class. Ten minutes later, Kairi was shaking her awake. "Yuffie? Yuffie? YUFFIE!"

"Hmm? I don't wanna get up," she murmured rolling over and pulling her head beneath the blankets.

"You have to get up. You're going to be late for class," Kairi said calmly as she pulled the blankets off Yuffie's sleepy form. "Remember? Class? And how much you hate to be late?"

Yuffie opened one eye to glare at the red-head. "I don't care anymore, Kairi, really. Now, please, just let me go back to sleep." The opened eye closed slowly as she saw her roommate leave her line of vision.

A moment later, she heard Kairi mumbling, "I'm sorry, Yuffie. But you leave me with no choice." As soon as those words were out of her mouth, she poured a glass of water over her sleeping roommate's face.

Sputtering, Yuffie sat up in a hurry, glowering at Kairi. "I swear, Kairi, I'm going to kill you." Rising from the bed, she lunged toward the red-head, murder showing in her eyes.

Laughing, Kairi leapt out of the way, causing Yuffie to fall down. She leaned over and grabbed her hand, hoisting her up, surprised at how light she felt and how weak her grasp was. "You'll thank me later, Yuffie. Now, come on. We have class in half an hour."

Drying her face with a towel, Yuffie muttered, "I'm not going."

"Yes, you are. Even if I have to drag you kicking and screaming the whole way." Going to Yuffie's closet, she threw her some clothes. "Here, go get dressed. Sora will be here in a minute to pick us up."

Yuffie rolled her eyes, submitting to her roommate's demands simply because she was too tired to do otherwise. She came out of the bathroom a moment later, fully dressed, and searching for a belt to hold her pants up as they kept sliding down her hips. Unable to locate one, she turned to her roommate, "Kairi, you wouldn't happen to have a belt I could borrow, do you?"

"Yeah, but since when did you start wearing one?" she replied, worry creasing her brows as she found the belt and handed it to Yuffie.

Coming up with a quick lie, Yuffie answered, "Oh, it's just these blue jeans. They were mis-sized and I didn't realize it when I bought them. The store had a no return policy."

Kairi mumbled, "Oh," not really believing her story. "Well, hurry up. We still have to stop by the cafeteria for breakfast."

No sooner had the words left Kairi's mouth, than there was a knocking at the door. The red-head rushed to the door and threw it open, revealing a grinning Sora. Kairi tackled him in a crushing hug, cutting off his air supply. Hearing him gasping for breath, Yuffie gently pulled her away, allowing Sora to breath. "Geez, Kairi...it's only been eighteen hours since I last saw you."

"I know, but I just missed you so much." She stood on tip-toe to give him a quick peck on the cheek. She turned back to Yuffie, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah...as ready as I'm going to be." Grabbing her backpack, she reluctantly followed the two of them. She closed and locked the door before remembering she had left her schedule inside. "I'll meet you guys outside, I forgot something," she called as they started down the stairs.

Once they were alone, Sora to Kairi, his blue eyes filled with worry. "Is it just me, or does Yuffie look like she's been sick?" he asked.

Kairi nodded distractedly. "Yeah, she doesn't look good. And she's been taking sleeping pills." She sighed softly. "I know something's wrong, but she won't tell me." Pausing to think for a moment, she continued, "She's been like this since Thanksgiving. Something happened then, but I don't know what."

Sora put a comforting arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. "Well, whatever it is, I'm sure she'll snap out of it. She doesn't seem like the kind to wallow in depression."

"I know. That's why I'm so worried," the red-head murmured under her breath.

A few minutes later, Yuffie caught up with them and the three of them headed across campus, pulling their coats closer as the cold wind cut through the material. Upon reaching the cafeteria, they thankfully stepped inside and were welcomed by the warmth from the heating system. Locating an empty table, they left their coats and backpacks to go stand in the long line for breakfast. 

"Yuffie, is that all you're going to eat?" Kairi asked as Yuffie left the line after grabbing a small cup of yogurt.

"Yeah, I'm not that hungry anyways," she answered as she walked back to the table. Kairi and Sora soon joined her, their trays loaded down with food. "Y'all are actually going to eat all of that?" Yuffie asked as she pointed to their breakfast.

Sora smiled. "Yeah, I'm really hungry," he said as he began to shovel food into his gaping mouth. Kairi slapped the back of his head, causing him to choke. "What was that for?" he managed to gasp out after getting his breath back.

"Use your manners!" the red-head commanded, to which he meekly complied.

Across from them, Yuffie watched the exchange between the two lovers with a mixture of envy and disgust. _They are so in love, _she thought, and her thoughts instantly turned to thoughts of Squall. As this happened, the one spoonful of yogurt she had eaten began to turn her stomach. She pushed the rest of it away, saying, "I think this is spoilt."

Kairi looked at her. "Well, go get another one, then."

"No, that's okay. I'm not hungry anyways." Yuffie continued to sit there, watching them out of hollow eyes, waiting for them to finish their breakfast before going to class since they did have the same classes today.

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Arriving back at her dorm around noon, Yuffie grabbed a candy bar from the shelf to quell the rumblings of her stomach. She had eaten about half of it when she became unable to handle the rest, which she promptly threw away. Drinking a glass of water, she washed the remnants of chocolate and nuts out of her mouth.

Since she had the rest of the afternoon off, she lay on her bed and turned the TV on, hoping to find something decent on. Flipping through the channels, she settled on an old black and white comedy on AMC. 

She soon fell asleep in the middle of the show, only to wake up hours later to find that _Casablanca_ had come on. Remembering the only other time she had seen the movie had been the night they were studying at Squall's apartment, Yuffie flicked the TV off, trying desperately to push all memories of him away.

Just then, she heard the door opening, allowing Kairi and Sora to enter the room. Yuffie looked at them tiredly, wondering why they had come. Walking over to the bed where Yuffie was lying, Kairi sat down. "Hey, Yuf, we were wondering if you want to join us for dinner?" she asked softly.

Yuffie shook her head. "No, I'm really tired. I think I'm just going to go to bed."

Sora glanced down at his watch and exchanged a worried look with Kairi. "But, Yuffie, it's only 6:30...isn't that a little early for bed?" he questioned.

"Okay, so I'm tired and trying to catch up on my sleep. Geez, you guys are starting to sound like my parents." She scowled at that thought. "Which I don't need more of."

"We're just worried about you, that's all," Kairi said quietly as she got up from where she was sitting. Yuffie waved them away, leaving her and Sora with no choice but to leave without her. As soon as they had left, Yuffie went to the bathroom and took two pills, wanting to sleep.

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The next morning, Yuffie actually got up when her alarm clock began screeching, knowing that missing a bio II lab meant an instant failure. On her way across campus, she prayed that Squall would not be in the class. She climbed the stairs, becoming exhausted soon after the first flight. "I guess I'm letting myself slip," she gasped as she dragged herself up to the fourth floor. Walking down the hall, she soon found her lab, and as soon as she walked in, she felt like running.

Not very many people had shown up yet, Yuffie being 15 minutes early. But, there, across the room, sat Squall. He glanced at her when he had heard the door open, but quickly lowered it again when he saw that it was her. In the one second he had spent looking at her, Yuffie noticed the scar running between his eyes, and took a sick pleasure in knowing that she had been the one to give it to him. _We're even, Squall, _she silently thought. _I gave you that scar to make up for the scar you gave me on my heart._ She stalked to the furthest seat away from him as she could get, sitting on the stool with her back turned towards him.

Once she had sat down where she couldn't see him, Squall turned his gaze to her once more. He watched as she shrugged off her coat, seeing how very thin she had become since he had last seen her. _I did this to her, _the voice in his head screamed. Before he could continue his self-chastisement, the TA walked in. It was once again Mr. Siewort who taught this lab as well.

Mr. Siewort began to pass out the papers, not showing recognition with his former students. "Please, fill out the forms, leaving your partner's name blank as that will be assigned momentarily." The class did as told, as the TA began to go down the roster, pairing students off alphabetically. Coming to the k's, he called, "Kisaragi, you will be paired with," he paused as he read the roll, and Yuffie prayed it wouldn't be who she thought it would be. "Leonheart," he finished, dousing all of her hopes. 

Closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths, she gathered her things and slowly walked over to where Squall was sitting. She sat down, never saying a word, yet knowing that it couldn't go on like this the whole semester. Something had to give somewhere. As she finished filling out the form Mr. Siewort had passed out, she dropped her pencil on the floor. "Damn it," she hissed under her breath.

Squall watched as she leaned over to pick her pencil up off the ground, his eyes widening as her shirt rose up her back and her spine jutted out from the skin. _She's been starving herself, _his mind screamed. _And it's my fault._ He was about to open his mouth to say something, when Yuffie realized he had been staring at her. She sent a death glare his way through hollow eyes before going back to her paper.

When the TA announced that class was dismissed, Yuffie bolted out the door, heading straight for her dorm. She really didn't want to deal with this right now. And she had no idea how she was going to handle having Squall as a partner, again. The day he told her it was a mistake was the day she felt as though a knife had been stabbed through her heart. And with every thought of him, the knife was twisted deeper into her. 

Once at her dorm, she realized what she had to do to stop the pain. Sitting at her desk, she took out a pen and a piece of stationary and began writing, tears falling from her cheeks and onto the paper as she wrote. When she had finished, she carefully folded it in half and placed it in an envelope, writing "Squall" on the front. She walked dazedly to the sink, where her bottle of pills were sitting. Opening it carefully and deliberately, she poured out a handful of pills and popped them into her mouth, and then reached for the water. With the note to Squall safely in one hand, she walked back to her bed and lay down...knowing it would all be over soon. It would all just go away...

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Author's Note: Yes, I know...I'm evil. I'm leaving you hanging there with no clear idea of when I'll have the time to do the next chapter. But, anyways, please review. And, if it's not too much trouble, could you please e-mail me a copy of your review and let me know what you've thought of the last 3 chapters since Fanfiction.net won't let me see the reviews from Chapters 8 and 9. Thank you. That address is deplora703@cs.com

Oh, by the way, I still have a goal of 100 reviews. Please make that dream a reality and review. ^_^


	11. Chapter Eleven: What Now?

Author's Note: Okay, my faithful readers. It is now 11:20 PM Friday night. I'm going to try and write this chapter tonight and have it posted by tomorrow morning. And, I would like to apologize for leaving you with a cliffhanger. I truly wanted to get this chapter posted the day after I posted the last one, but we all know how Fanfiction.net has been acting for the past couple days. And, with papers and midterms with school, I just couldn't find time to write this. However, I'm pleased to say that my Spring Break officially began at 1:50 PM today and will not end until 10:00 AM Monday morning, March 15. So, I'm free to do what I want when I want. Yeah, so anyways, I know you guys don't really care what I write up here. You just want the chapter, right? Right. So, here we go.

Note to Cookie: You're right about the tattoo thing. Honestly, I didn't even consider him having a tattoo until I wrote chapter 8. So, will pretend that in chapter 7, when Yuffie woke up with him in his bed after the Halloween party, that he was lying in a way where she couldn't see it. And, your English seems to be fine. In fact, you have a better grasp of it than some native English speaking people I know.

By the way, I know in my last chapter I begged for reviews to be e-mailed to me. Thank you to those who did. But, since FF.net is working again, it will no longer be necessary.

[Disclaimer: I do not own any characters portrayed in the story unless they are my own, completely one-dimensional original characters that really have no importance in the story. However, if anyone knows who I can call to buy Squall, please tell me immediately]

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_Chapter Eleven: What Now?_

No sooner had Yuffie lay on her bed with the letter to Squall still clutched in her hand, than she heard the sound of a key being pushed into the doorknob. She quickly rolled over and feigned sleep as Kairi walked into the room. As the water in the bathroom sink was turned on, a startled gasp floated across the room to Yuffie's ears.

Kairi ran to Yuffie's bed and began shaking her shoulders, holding the empty pill bottle in her hand. "YUFFIE! GET UP, NOW!" she yelled, still violently shaking her roommate.

Yuffie jerked herself out of her roommate's grasp. "What, Kairi? What do you want?" she demanded.

The red-head shoved the empty bottle in Yuffie's face. "Where are all your pills, Yuffie? This thing was nearly full this morning." Her violet eyes were wide with fear and confusion as she continued to stare at Yuffie.

"I...I...I flushed them down the toilet be-, because I don't need them anymore," the ebony-haired young woman finally stammered out.

Kairi shook her head. "No, Yuffie, you didn't," she stated rather calmly as she reached for the phone. She quickly dialed 9-1-1, the number drilled into her head since she could remember. The operator soon came on line, asking for the nature of the emergency. "My roommate just took a bottle of sleeping pills." There was a short pause. "No, she's still conscious." Another pause, "_Ambien_," Kairi said. Before hanging up, she gave the operator their address.

Yuffie threw herself back down on her bed in defeat, tears falling from her eyes. "Why did you have to come back so early, Kairi? Why?" she begged through broken sobs as she curled into a fetal position.

Kairi came and sat next to her, visibly shaking. "Yuffie, why did you do it? What's wrong? You can tell me anything." A few tears began forming in the red-head's eyes, but she stubbornly pushed them back. _Now's not the time, Kairi, _she told herself. _You have to stay calm until the ambulance gets here._

Her roommate ignored her questions, curling her body up into an even tighter ball as the sobs continued to wrack her body. Kairi continued to sit on the bed, reaching out a shaky hand to rub her back in an attempt to soothe the pain. It wasn't long after she had placed the call, when she heard the paramedics beating on the door. Kairi rushed to let them in and they quickly carried Yuffie out on a stretcher, telling the red-head that she would have to come to the hospital in her own vehicle. She consented, and decided she would bring a change of clothes for Yuffie as well.

It was as she was opening the top drawer of the dresser near Yuffie's bed, when Kairi's eyes wandered to the crumpled envelope lying near the tear-stained pillow. Curious, she picked it up and turned it over, reading the name _Squall_ on the back. She slowly opened it and pulled out the note within. As her eyes skimmed over the letter, they widened in shock and finally narrowed in rage. Searching Yuffie's address book, she soon found the number she wanted and lunged for the phone, dialing furiously as she mumbled, "That bastard."

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_Squall opened his eyes, finding himself in his own room at his own apartment, but something felt different somehow. He couldn't quite place it, but he felt a presence that he hadn't felt for a long while. His eyes darted around the room, searching for the source of this feeling. _

_ Not finding anyone or anything, he arose from his bed and slowly walked to the kitchen. There, on the counter, was the broken picture of Rinoa. The one Yuffie had vengefully thrown at him._ _And, behind the counter, staring at him with her dark brown eyes was her. Rinoa. The one he had given his heart to completely, only to have it shattered with her death._

_ "Rinoa," he whispered, his voice barely audible even to his own ears._

_ "Yes, Squall. I'm here," she called to him. Or at least it seemed she called to him, for he could hear her voice in his head, but her lips had only curved into a sad smile._

_ He started towards her, desperate to hold her in his arms once more_. _But as soon as he was within reach, she stepped back. "I'm here, Squall. But not in the way you want me to be."_

_ "But, Rinoa...I need you," he cried._

_ She pointed to the broken picture on the counter. "Squall, you must move on. You cannot keep holding onto the past."_

_ A few tears fell from Squall's eyes. "I'm so sorry, Rinoa, but I've betrayed you. I--"_

_She interrupted him. "No, Squall. You did not betray me. She is with you, and I am not. She can love you in a way that I cannot any longer. She gave you the greatest thing she could–she is alive, and she is here. Don't throw it away, you have my blessing. Now go."_

_ Squall reached out to touch her, his hand within inches of her face–_

The telephone rang, jolting Squall out of his dream. He found himself in his bedroom, the noon sun filtering through his curtains. After his guilt-ridden experience in the bio lab that morning, he had returned to his apartment for a nap. Reaching across the bed, he grabbed the cordless phone. "Yeah," he answered rather grumpily.

"Squall! You have some explaining to do," an angry voice on the other end yelled.

"First of all, it's Leon. And, secondly, who the hell are you?" he demanded.

"This is Kairi, you know, Yuffie's roommate. Remember her? You nearly killed her, you bastard."

Temporarily shocked, he couldn't speak for a moment. "What the hell are you talking about?" he finally replied.

"Here, why don't I just read you what she wrote. I mean, after all, her suicide note is addressed to you."

"SUICIDE NOTE!!!!" he screamed into phone.

"Yes, suicide note." Kairi paused for a moment, letting that sink in before she read the note. "'Squall–

You loved me and you left me. You took me and then ignored me. A mistake, you called it. Perhaps it was. I can't live with the pain anymore, and the pain won't go away...so I will not live at all. Know this...no matter how much I hate the idea, I love you. I love you...

Yuffie'"

"Is-, Is she alright?" he managed to stammer out quietly, praying she would still be alive.

"I'm not sure. Luckily, I found her before the pills knocked her out. But, if you come near her, I will personally make sure you never--" 

Squall didn't hear the rest of her threat as he hung the phone up and scrambled out of bed. Throwing the first shirt and jeans he could find on, he quickly put on his sneakers and ran out of the house, grabbing his car keys on the way.

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Upon reaching the hospital, Squall didn't even ask the receptionist where Yuffie was, knowing she would not allow him access as he was not the next of kin. He simply burst through the doors and walked down the hall, looking at the names of the patients on the charts hanging outside their doors. When he finally found the chart with the name "Yuffie Kisaragi" written at the top, he started to push it open, only to have an orderly restrain him.

"I'm sorry, sir. But I cannot allow you to go in there," the young man told him as he grabbed Squall's arm to pull him back to the lobby.

Not wanting to put up with anything and needing to see Yuffie right then, Squall's hand quickly formed a tight fist, which he then used to smash the orderly's face. The young man crumpled to the floor, out cold, and Squall simply stepped across him and walked into Yuffie's room.

She sat on the bed, coughing from the charcoal they had made her drink to bring up the pills. Hearing the door open, she turned to see the last person she expected to see here. "What are you doing here?" she rasped between coughs.

He took a step towards her. "Kairi called me and told me what happened." Yuffie continued to stare at him, her eyes giving off the same hollow look he had noticed in the bio lab that morning. "She read me your note, Yuffie," he said quietly.

"Oh, gawd," she exclaimed as she ran a hand through her hair. She sat there for a moment, tears running done her face. Squall walked even closer to her, reaching out a hand to lay on her shoulder. As soon as he made contact, she hissed, "Go back to your old girlfriend!"

He took a step backwards, quickly pulling back his hand. "What old girlfriend?" he asked confusedly.

"The one in the picture," she yelled, exasperated.

"Yuffie...she's not here," he whispered.

Yuffie's haunted eyes bored holes into his as she glared at him. "Well, where is she? I'm sure she's better for you than I am!"

Squall closed his eyes for a moment, before answering her. "Yuffie–she hasn't left New York in almost three years."

"Why not?" Yuffie persisted.

"Because...that's where she's buried," he finished.

Yuffie's eyes widened in shock. "You mean...?"

Squall nodded slowly, "Yes, Rinoa is dead." Before Yuffie could say anything to this, hospital security had busted open the door, taking Squall into their custody for his attack on the orderly. She watched in silence as they dragged him out the door, leaving her alone again.

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Because of her suicide attempt, the doctors at the hospital marked Yuffie as mentally unstable and in need of evaluation. She would be kept in the hospital's psyc ward while she underwent therapy for the next month. For the first two weeks, Yuffie was not allowed to be alone at any time or have any visitors. By the third week, Aerith was coming by, bringing her homework from her classes so she wouldn't be too far behind. It was also in the third week of her evaluation that she called Squall and asked if he would come, not giving any reason, just asking if he would come.

Squall arrived at the hospital as soon as he was able, the nurses and doctors giving him a wide berth as they recognized him as the one who had become violent only weeks before. He was led down a long hall until they reached a door. His escort pulled out a card key to unlock the door and allowed Squall to enter the room.

He stepped through slowly, surveying the scene around him. He jumped when he heard the door slam shut behind him and was shocked when he saw that there was no doorknob inside the room. The room itself had completely white walls, no patterns or designs, just plain white walls. Looking at the bed, he saw her, lying perfectly still. She appeared to be comatose, her chest hardly rising with the breaths she took. He nervously approached her, softly calling her name. 

When she didn't answer, he began to fear that she really was comatose. His steps quickened as he walked to her. "Yuffie," he called a little louder this time. Still no response. Sitting on the edge of her bed, he reached out and grabbed her hand, gently squeezing it, hoping for a response.

Jerking back to reality from the world she created in her head to flee to, she looked at him confusedly. They continued like that for a moment, just sitting there in silence. "Why?" Squall finally asked.

She reached out a hand and touched his face. "I want out. Just let me see you one last time. Let me touch you one last time. I want out. I can't do this anymore. Let me go." She broke down as she finished, letting the tears flow freely down her cheeks. Not knowing what else to do, Squall wrapped his arms around her and let her cry into his shirt until her tears were spent. He knew it was his fault she was in this condition, in this place.

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When her month was finally up, Yuffie was allowed to return to school, much to the disappointment of her parents who hoped she would drop out and return home with them. She cringed when she remembered her mother's reaction to reason she tried to kill herself. The only thing Yuffie could make out among all the yelling was the phrase "used goods," and the word "slut," but she tried to push it out of her mind.

In her bio lab, Yuffie stayed after class to turn in the special reports Mr. Siewort had her complete as an alternative to the bio labs she had missed. He flipped through the pages, raising an eyebrow at some passages, before shoving it into his already full briefcase and leaving the room.

Yuffie returned to where she had left her backpack on the counter, noticing Squall was still there. She sighed. "This has been one hell of a roller coaster, Squall."

"I know."

"I know I love you, maybe I always have--" she began before he interrupted her.

"Which is what I'm afraid of," Squall whispered.

She ignored his comment and continued. "–but we can't go on, not when things went so wrong. We just can't. I'm sorry." She refused to meet his gaze.

Stricken, Squall quickly tried to think of something to say. "What say you that we just...start over? From the beginning?" he asked.

Thinking for a moment, she replied, "I guess that could work."

"Right, then." 

She started to walk away, then turned back, asking, "Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

Squall smiled, "No, you can sit down."

"I'm Yuffie...what's your name?" she asked as she reached to shake his hand.

There was a long pause as Squall stopped to think how to answer her simple question. He realized that both Rinoa and Yuffie had loved Squall, and it was Leon who kept messing things up. It was Leon who insisted on dwelling in the past, walking down life's highway while looking backwards. It was at that moment when Squall decided that Leon was dead. He reached out and took Yuffie's hand, shaking it. 

"Squall," he answered.

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Author's Note: I have finished this story at long last, and it's only 2:30 AM. Okay, readers, I have an announcement to make. Right now, I have 86 reviews. If I get 100 reviews, I'll start writing a sequel to this that will have plenty of Squffie fluffiness. So, that's 14 more reviews. Do you think you can do it? Anyways, I'm going to post this and go to bed. I'll post the credits in a separate chapter and add it on Saturday or Sunday. Anyways, read and review. Remember, that's only 14 more reviews until I meet my goal!!


	12. Credits and Thank You's

Okay...it's time for me to write all of my credits and thank you's.

First of all, I would like to thank Vulpes Lapis. *big hug* Without her help, this story wouldn't have made it past Chapter 2, so I want everyone who reads this to go read her stories and review them for me.

Secondly, I want to thank of all my reviewers...that's right...each and every one of you. C'mon guys, group hug!!! Without all of your reviews, I would have been unable to continue. And, with 92 reviews, I feel so loved. Especially considering that I have not been flamed, yet. Now, here's everyone who has reviewed so far:

Tidus'luvr99

Vulpes Lapis

BlueEyedDemon10

Kagome200315

Cookie

Qwiksilver

VQ

Shady Jane

Seth8

Annjirika

pingpong867

classengurl

Dry Tears

BroncosCheer-literofpepsy

MariQ

DBH

Taryn

Kevin

deity of death1

Krigersk

Kingdom Hearts Queen

Kairi

Zenid

Jaguarkitty2006

Kintora

Morgaine

fanficlvr

Snowri

BB214kiss

Okay, I think that's everyone...if I missed you, I'm truly sorry.

I would like to thank all the Squffie writers before me. Without them, I would never have been inspired to write any Squffies.

I want to thank fanfiction.net, yes that's right, for without them I would never have stumbled across any stories.

And, finally, I want to thank Disney and Square for making the wonderful game and characters of Kingdom Hearts. I especially want to thank Square for making Squall. hehe, sorry, had to throw that in somewhere. 

Anyways, now that this story is over, I'm looking forward to writing the sequel. It will be called "Against the Current," and I should have the opening chapter up within a few days.

I know, I know. I said I wouldn't write it unless I got 100 reviews. But you guys know me, I can't go for than a few days without writing a squffie of some kind. So, due to my own addiction to both Squffies and reviews, it'll be up in a day or so.

And, now, I must end the credits. So, thank you to everyone once again...especially VL, who gave me the direction in which this story went and has allowed me to test my story ideas out on her first, before I subjected you to any bad squffieness.


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